ST STEPHEN’S DAY; Boxing Day - 26th December
ST STEPHEN’S DAY; BOXING DAY- 26th DECEMBER Rembrandt, "The Stoning of St Stephen", (1625). St Stephen is venerated as the protomartyr, (the first martyr), of the Church. He was a deacon in the early Church at Jerusalem. He aroused the enmity of various synagogues by his teachings and was accused of blasphemy. He made a speech denouncing the Jewish authorities sitting in judgment on him and was sentenced to death by stoning. His martyrdom was witnessed by St Paul who later became Christian. He is mentioned in Acts 6 as one of the Greek-speaking Hellenistic Jews who were selected by the bishops to assist the widows by welfare and other means. Acts 6; 8 provides: And Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders and signs among the people. He distributed food and funds to the widows and poorer members of the community, organising meals to feed the poor and motivating people to contribute money to help them. He organised the donations by placing clay te...