Καθολικός διάκονος: Feast of Saint Stephen, First Martyr

Thursday, December 26, 2024

Feast of Saint Stephen, First Martyr

Readings: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59; Psalm 31:3-4.6.8.16-17; Matthew 10:17-22

In his first encyclical letter, Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI noted:

The Church's deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility of proclaiming the word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the sacraments (leitourgia), and exercising the ministry of charity (diakonia)¹

Today, the Second Day of Christmas and second day of the Octave, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Stephen, who is the Church’s first martyr. Stephen is the most representative of a group of seven men set apart by the apostles after their selection by the community to serve the community.² At least initially, their service consisted of ensuring a fair distribution of goods within the early Christian community, which held all things in common- an aspect of the faith that often goes overlooked.

At least from the time of Saint Irenaeus of Lyons in the second century, the Church has viewed these seven men as “the seed of the future ministry of ‘deacons’.”³ The criteria according to which these seven were chosen was threefold: their good reputation, their wisdom, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.⁴

That Stephen is an important figure in the nascent Church is made clear by the fact that in his second volume, known as the Acts of the Apostles, Luke “dedicates two whole chapters to him.”⁵ It seems that Stephen’s martyrdom marked the beginning of the persecution of the primitive Church. It was this persecution that caused those who followed “the Way’ to flee Jerusalem.

Philip is the only other one of the seven named in Acts 6 about whom Luke writes more. He fled the persecution by heading to Samaria.⁶ There he continued he continued proclaiming the Gospel, winning and baptizing converts. This early persecution was the first great push of the Church beyond Jerusalem. While God was certainly not the immediate cause of the fulfillment of this prophecy given by Jesus in today’s Gospel, God used this to further the Gospel, thus expanding the Church.

The Stoning of Stephen, by Giovanni Battista Lucini, ca. 1680

Of course, the next big push would be when Saul, the one holding the cloaks and encouraging those stoning Stephen, was converted and, after a period of preparation, would begin to proclaim to the Gospel to the nations, that is, to the Gentiles.

Deacons are ordained for the threefold munera of word, liturgy, and charity.⁷ In this way, deacons participate in the Apostolic ministry of their Bishop, which consists of teaching, sanctifying, and governing, to whom they are closely connected. While Acts is a bit early to see the distinctive office of deacon emerge in the Church, Philippians 1:1 is not ("overseers"=episcopoi and "ministers"=diakonoi). Hence, a good argument can be made that, along with the episcopate, the diaconate is an older office in the Church than the presbyterate.

In Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict also noted that three distinctive activities of the Church, which he calls “duties,” “presuppose each other and are inseparable.”⁸ Hence, the beautiful quote by theologian Herbert Vorgrimler that beautifully captures the essence of the diaconate- it is the deacon who “makes it clear that the liturgy must have consequences in the world with all its needs.”⁹

In Saint Stephen, who is usually depicted as vested in a dalmatic in paintings of his stoning, martyria, leitourgia, and diakonia come together.