The first deacon, St. Stephen, was distinguished by special gifts of the Holy spirit and performed many miracles. Once he preached in one of the synagogues in Jerusalem. Some Jews argued with him, but could not prove anything, because the power of the Holy spirit worked through the words of St. Stephen. Then they falsely accused St. Stephen of abusing Moses and even God Himself. Then they found false witnesses and called him to trial.

At the trial, everyone noticed the face of St. Stephen, it looked like the face of an angel. In his speech St. Stephen said that he honored the righteous of the old Testament and in the words of the prophets themselves proved that the old Testament must yield to the more perfect New Testament. At the end of the speech, he said that just as the prophets had been killed before, so now they had killed Jesus Christ, of whom the prophets had prophesied.

This greatly angered the members of the court. In these difficult moments, the Lord reinforced St. Stephen with a joyful vision. He exclaimed that he saw heaven opened and that he saw Jesus Christ standing on the right side of the Lord God. This further angered the Jews and they seized and brought St. Stephen outside the city and there threw stones at him. St. Stephen prayed for his tormentors and died with these words: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Just before he died, he cried aloud, “Lord, do not condemn them for this sin,” and then died.

St. Stephen is called the Holy first Martyr as he was the first of many Christian martyrs to give his life for the faith. By the murder of St. Stephen and many other Christians, the spread of the Christian faith was not weakened. On the contrary, the persecution of Christians helped spread the Christian faith.

The memory of the Holy first Martyr and archdeacon Stephen is celebrated on the day of his repose on 27 December/9 January and on the day of the transfer of his relics on 2/15 August.