Feast of St Stephen, Martyr

St Stephen was the first Christian martyr, whose apologia before the Sanhedrin (Acts of the Apostles 7) points to a distinct strand of belief in early Christianity. His defence of his faith before the rabbinic court enraged his Jewish audience, and he was taken out of the city and stoned to death.

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (6:8-10; 7: 54-59) gives the account of Stephen’s martyrdom as he dies he prays “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” and asks mercy for his killers “Lord do not hold this sin against them.

In the Gospel (Matthew 10:17-22) Jesus warns his disciples about rejection and betrayal and says the one “who stands firm to the end will be saved.”