From the very first days of her existence, the Church of Christ was watered with the blood of martyrs. These men and women did not merely believe — they were ready to die for the Truth, and therefore their witness remains alive for two millennia. Among them a special place belongs to Saint Stephen, the Protomartyr and Archdeacon — the first to shed his blood for Christ after His Resurrection and Ascension. His feat is not merely a page of ancient history, but a prophetic word addressed to us who live today.

We read of Stephen in the Acts of the Holy Apostles. There it is written that he was full of faith and of the power of the Holy Spirit, working wonders and signs among the people. His speech was so incisive that his opponents could not withstand the wisdom with which he spoke.

When he was brought before the Sanhedrin, he did not attempt to defend himself. Instead, Stephen delivered a fiery sermon, reminding his listeners of the mighty works of God in the history of Israel. He spoke of how the Lord had brought His people out of bondage, had given them the Law, and sent them the prophets; yet the people turned away time and again, inclining towards idolatry — to the service of Moloch, Remphan, and other false gods.

“Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so do ye.” (Acts 7:51)

Stephen revealed a fearful truth: one may bear the name of the people of God and yet, lacking a contrite heart before the Lord, become an enemy of the Truth. Outward forms of piety — knowledge of Scripture, attendance at the temple, and observance of rites — do not save if the heart is ruled by a spirit alien to God. One may be alive in body yet dead in soul, if one’s heart is given over to idols.

“Ye… have received the Law by the disposition of Angels, and have not kept it.” (Acts 7:53)

Relevance to Our Time

We may think that idols belong to antiquity. Yet, in truth, they have multiplied, taking new forms. Modern idols wear the appearance of progress and the brilliance of technology. They take the form of the cult of comfort, of the body, of power and fame — often empty and imaginary, born of vanity. They include the desire to prolong earthly life at all costs — even at the cost of the soul, forgetting God, the Giver of life.

These idols enter homes unbidden, promising happiness and freedom, yet bringing only inner emptiness and the bondage of sin. All these are new altars upon which the soul is willingly sacrificed, trading eternity for a fleeting moment of earthly seduction.

Man was created in the image and likeness of God — and for this very reason he is hated by the devil. The adversary strives to distort this image, sowing passions and vices. He destroys in man purity, conscience, love and the fear of God.

The impurity with which films, music and advertising are flooded destroys the chastity of the soul. The disdain for parents — when children cease to honour father and mother and youth ceases to esteem the aged — destroys the very foundation of society. It is a direct violation of the commandment to which the Lord annexed the promise of long life and blessing. Hatred and reviling become a normal form of communication.

A particularly grievous sin is the shedding of innocent blood. If wars and crimes take many lives, then the murder of unborn children is a yet more dreadful crime, taking millions of lives every year. This silent tragedy surpasses any war in magnitude, and the blood of these infants crieth unto God.

Yet even this is not enough for the adversary. He wages war against the very Truth, replacing it with falsehood and spiritual counterfeit. In our day, those who remain faithful to Christ are more and more subjected to mockery, persecution and slander.

Moreover, humanity increasingly exalts and justifies sins which God condemned from ancient times. That which He called deadly sin is now named “freedom” and “nature”. The very sins for which the flood came and Sodom and Gomorrah were consumed by fire are today celebrated and cloaked in attractive slogans, while the coming wrath of God is concealed.

These phenomena are links of one chain, steps toward the great falling away, when the world will turn from its Creator, accept falsehood in place of Truth, and prepare itself for the coming of the final deceiver. The hour shall come when Antichrist shall reign, promising a false peace and a false freedom, that he might destroy souls.

The Witness of Stephen — a Lesson for Us All

The words of Saint Stephen were as a sword piercing the hearts of his hearers. Yet instead of repentance they were filled with rage, cast him out of the city and stoned him. As he died, he beheld the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. His final words were a prayer:

“Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” (Acts 7:60)

This is the summit of Christian love — to forgive one’s murderers and to pray for them. Thus the light of Christ conquered the darkness of human hatred.

Today, as in former times, the world is filled with idols, though their names have changed. We are not required to renounce Christ publicly; rather, we are slowly taught to live as though He did not exist. False values are presented to us as gifts — attractively packaged, yet deadly to the soul. Sin is adorned with splendour so that it may appear as good.

The witness of the Protomartyr Stephen teaches us not to remain silent when Truth is trampled, and not to bow before any idols — manifest or hidden. We must preserve within ourselves the image of God, cleansing the soul by repentance, strengthening it by prayer, and by reading Scripture and the holy Fathers. Then the powers of darkness shall not prevail against us.

In a world where idols change their visage but not their nature, the martyrdom of Saint Stephen stands as a call to remain faithful unto the end: to make no compromise with sin, to love the Truth more than life itself, and to be ready to confess Christ in every circumstance, that in the hour of trial we may not be ashamed of the Lord.

Let us not fear those who can destroy the body, but rather fear the loss of the soul, for which a crown is prepared — a crown that shineth in the Kingdom of Christ and is more precious than all the treasures of this world.

Holy Apostle and Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen, pray unto Christ our God for the salvation of our souls!