Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen.
St. Stephen, the Protomartyr and Archdeacon, was one of the seven deacons chosen by the Apostles to serve the first church in Jerusalem. Full of grace and power, he preached Christ boldly; accused before the council, he beheld the heavens opened and the Son of Man at the right hand of God, and was stoned to death, praying for his slayers, while the young Saul, the future Apostle Paul, stood by.
He is the first martyr of the Church, and his witness became the pattern for all martyrs after him. His feast is kept on December 27, within the days of the Nativity.
Feast day
On the New Calendar, Stephen the First Martyr is commemorated on December 27. Churches on the Old (Julian) Calendar keep the feast on January 9 of the civil calendar.
Who celebrates a name day
People with these names keep their name day on this feast:
Stefanos, Stefanis, Stephanos, Stefan, Stephen, Steve, Stefania, Stephania, Stephanie, Stefanie
Also commemorated on December 27
Theodore Graptus
Venerable, Θεόδωρος ο Γραπτός
Venerable Theodore the Branded, Confessor of the holy icons.
Theodore of Constantinople
Hierarch, Θεόδωρος Α' Κωνσταντινουπόλεως
Theodore I, Archbishop of Constantinople.
Mauricius and the Seventy Martyrs
Martyr, Μαυρίκιος, Φωτεινός και οι Εβδομήκοντα
Holy Martyrs Mauricius, his son Photinus, and the seventy soldiers martyred at Apamea.
Icon: public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.
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