Like the Good King Wenceslaus, Stephen (c. 35) was killed because of his convictions about the revelation of Christ in the world. Indeed, according to the Book of Acts, he was the very first martyr of the Christian faith—bearing testimony to his accusers of the historicity and transforming power of the Gospel. For centuries, Christians have remembered his boldness, courage, and faithfulness on the day after Christmas, December 26. Because Stephen was a deacon in the early church—charged with caring for the orphans and widows in their distress—his day has generally been set aside as a day for selfless care for the poorest of the poor, the despised, the rejected, and the unloved.
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