On the fifteenth of August, the Orthodox remember an event almost sixteen centuries ago – the transfer of the remains of the Protomartyr Stephen from Jerusalem to Constantinople.
Stephen died at the age of thirty. He was one of the seven deacons whom the apostles assigned to serve the needs of the early Christian communities. For his brilliant speeches and miracles, the Pharisees attacked him.
He was charged with a fabricated charge. At the Sanhedrin meeting, Stephen did not make excuses in the usual sense, instead he went through key episodes of Jewish history and directly pointed out their refusal to recognize the Messiah. The final reason for the massacre was the words about the vision: the martyr described the open sky and Christ to the right of God. The trial immediately turned into a lynching.
Stones were thrown by witnesses who first signed the charge. While the execution was going on, young Saul sat by the clothes of the executioners. He saw it with his own eyes and did not see it as a crime. Later it was he, already under the name of Paul, who would spread the teachings of Christ throughout the Roman Empire.
The victim was left without burial. A day later, the remains were stolen by the people of Gamaliel, a respected rabbi in Jerusalem who secretly leaned towards Christianity. The burial took place in his own estate, in a cave.
The mystery of the place remained until 415. Gamaliel appeared in a dream to Presbyter Lucian and revealed the coordinates of the grave. The raised remains were transferred to Jerusalem. The shrine had healings recorded.
Thirteen years later, Emperor Theodosius the Younger initiated the transfer of the relic to Constantinople. First it was sheltered by the temple of Deacon Lawrence, later a separate church was built for the relics.
Now particles of the remains dispersed to dozens of temples of the world. In the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is kept the right hand of the saint.
Memorial Day
August 15
Charity foundHoly Land.
Soul investment! News
