Eulogies to the Holy Protomartyr Stephen

The sermon “A Word of Eulogy to the Holy Protomartyr Stephen” was delivered by St. Gregory of Nyssa in 386 St. Gregory defends the divine dignity of the Holy Spirit, refuting the opinion that the martyr. At the time of his death, Stephen saw only two Faces of the Holy Trinity, and also refutes the Arian understanding of the words of the martyr that belittles the dignity of God the Son. Stephen about the Son of Man standing “at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). *The title of the work in Greek is ᾿Εϒκώμιον εἰς τὸν ἅϒιον πρωτομάρτυρα Στέφανον; ῞Ετερον ἐϒκώμιον εἰς τὸν ἅϒιον πρωτομάρτυρα Στέφανον. *The title of the work in Latin is Encomium 1 in sanctum Stephanum protomartyrem; Encomium alterum in sanctum Stephanum protomartyrem. How beautifully one good follows another! What a pleasant succession of joy! For behold, we receive holiday after holiday, pleasure after pleasure. Yesterday the Lord of the universe prepared a feast for us; now he is an imitator of Him. How does this one arrange it, and how does that one arrange it? He who put on human nature for us, this one put off man for Him; He, for our sake, enters the cave of life; this one coming out of the cave for His sake; This one was wrapped in swaddling clothes for our sake, this one was stoned for Him; This one is destroying death, this one is trampling overthrown death. Let us, brethren, flow with our words to the spectacle and see how the great fighter will strive, speaking in the field of confession against the evil enemy of human life. “For truly,” according to Paul, “he became a spectacle for the world... both angels and men” (1 Cor. 4:9) the great Stephen, the first to be adorned with the crown of confession, the first to open the entrance to the face of the martyrs, the first to resist sin even “to the blood” (Heb. 12:4). And it seems to me that for all the super-worldly host and for all the themes of the Angels, both those serving and those who are coming, for all that we know of the highest ranks on high, for the principles, powers, thrones, authorities, dominions and for the entire heavenly host, this ascetic fighting with the enemy then served as a spectacle. For human life stretched out before those who were fighting, like some kind of field, where they mutually excited each other to fight; on the one hand, the crafty opponent of people, from the time of the fall of the ancestors to the time of Stephen, experienced in winning victories over people; on the other hand, he is a great ascetic of faith, putting the enemy’s attack at nothing. Both also had weapons against each other: the culprit of death had a threat (of death), the student of life had a confession of faith. And who would not marvel at this new type of struggle, when the basis for judging truth was life and death, when death was the proof of truth? For the preacher of the hidden faith and unknown life by his very deed proclaimed to people (the truth) of his preaching; since for people of common sense, the readiness to leave this life served as proof that the life being abandoned is changing for a better one. But it is better to try to accurately describe in words, as if in a picture, the entire feat of Stephen, so that with a consistent depiction of what happened, it is more convenient to show a whole series of miracles. Not long before, a stormy breath from above, dispersing the airy and deceitful power of demons, filled the house in which the apostles were and the Spirit, divided in the form of tongues of fire according to the number of those receiving grace, remained on each of them. At the sight of the extraordinary miracle revealed in sounds and language, horror and confusion seized all those who had gathered in Jerusalem from every nation, when they, separated by different and varied peculiarities of languages, all suddenly found themselves understanding the speech of the disciples in these languages, and when the ability of the Apostles to speak (in other languages) arose not as a result of preliminary teaching or any exercise, but from the inspiration of the Spirit, through the sudden bestowal of this grace. For it was necessary for those who had lost the unity of language during the construction of the earthly tower to regain this unity during the spiritual creation of the Church. Therefore, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit well begins the action of grace in that it makes the common goodness of all people equally accessible to understanding in every human language, so that the preaching of piety, being confined within the confines of one language only, would not remain useless and ineffective for those speaking in other tongues. So, when the Pharisees did not believe their own ears and tried to mislead those amazed at the miracles, mockingly saying that such an extraordinary state produced sweet wine in them; when Peter, with one speech, as if with some kind of net, caught three thousand souls for Christ, and the Church then constantly multiplied by the increase of those being saved; when the lame man from birth again opened the red gates of the church to those who were escaping, sitting at which, through his miraculous healing, he led those who tempt their souls to faith - and so at that very time when many flocked to preach the faith and when more people were needed to serve grace - then Stephen, great in wisdom and grace, is called upon by the Spirit to help the Apostles. And let no one, dwelling on the name “ministry” (Acts 6:3), think that this places him below apostolic dignity, since Paul also recognized himself as a minister of the Mysteries of Christ (1 Cor. 3:5), and the Lord of the universe, who in His flesh completed the economy of man’s salvation, was not ashamed of the name of service, saying that He was among (the disciples) “as He ministered” (Luke 22:27), performing “the division of ministries,” as the Apostle says (1 Cor. 12:5). For just as fire, having engulfed a substance suitable for it, raises the flame to a height and produces greater light than before; So the Holy Spirit, having entered into the great soul of Stephen, made the rays of grace clearer. Therefore, everyone who had any knowledge and education turned their gaze to him; and those who considered themselves stronger than others in this regard, having agreed together, formed a kind of dense military formation, thus trying to repel the blows of Stephen. But he was equally insurmountable for everyone, whether he entered into a fight with many or with a few. In the present case, apparently, the Alexandrians, Libertines, Cyreneans and others who had gathered from everywhere came into conflict with the ascetic of truth; but the one who was hiding behind this appearance was the father of lies, who, in the person of people, rebelled against the truth spoken in Stephen. Meanwhile, although truth triumphed over lies, when that valiant man completely put to flight all the champions of lies; However, the servant of truth suffers slander from the enemy of truth, as if he were not discovering the real truth, but inventing an imaginary truth. I would say to the devil: “Why are you building these fetters against the herald (of the truth)”? If you have the strength, then strike the truth speaking in Stephen; if it is not accessible to your tricks, then why do you sharpen your malice against the vessel of truth and destroy what contains it, leaving the contents untouched? Isn’t that something similar that dogs do, gnawing stones that are thrown at them, but not touching the one who throws them? And so, since the lie was exposed by its opposition (the truth), and this evil one was no longer able to find any other champion of the lie, since everyone turned their gaze to the clearly revealed truth; then he remembers his own military art, divides his strength between accusers and judges and, acting in both, encourages some to tell lies against Stephen, others to accept slander with anger; and having incited the Jews in various ways with his suggestions, he becomes everything against Stephen, both accuser and judge and executioner and everything else that could lead to his death, not knowing what kind of fall he himself will undergo after such a sentence against Stephen. For as experienced wrestlers, yielding to the physical strength of their opponents, prepare for them a more difficult fall through some artificial dexterity; so the great Stephen, stretched out across the earth, inflicts a heavy defeat on the enemy. For from that time on the apostles flowed throughout the universe; here is the beginning of the spread of the teaching everywhere; since, if the Jewish people, after the murder of Stephen, had not rebelled with fury against the Apostles, then the grace of the Gospel would have been limited, perhaps, to Jerusalem alone; Now, persecuted by the Jews, they are each scattered among the various nations of the universe, casting out the devil from everywhere through the teaching of the sacraments. Thus, Samaria receives the word of God; So, incidentally on the way, Philip rescues a eunuch; Thus, the great vessel of the Church, Paul, armed from the devil with anger and threats, turns arrows against the very one who armed him, driving him out of the entire universe, since he did not leave a single country inaccessible to faith in Christ. Since then, the Egyptians, Syrians, Paroians and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Italians and Galatians, Illyrians, Macedonians (know Christ), and the teaching, spreading everywhere, leads all peoples to faith. Do you see Stefan's martial arts? Do you see how many blows were crushed by the enemy, who imagined to gain the upper hand over his opponent through slander? But let's go back to the field of struggle. With what words do slanderers excite people? “This man does not cease,” they said, “to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and against the law. For we heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth would destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us” (Acts 6:13,14). This is the accusation of the devil's rhetoricians. But what is the madness of those listening? Why do they rebel against the accused with anger? What harm did you see in these words? What they put forward as an accusation against him was later accomplished. They said that he said that this place was about to be destroyed and the decrees of Moses would be abolished. What crime is contained in these words, are they true or false? For if you tell a lie, then this sad event will not happen, but if you tell the truth, then what is criminal in a word that predicts what will come true? What is certain to happen will happen, whether we remain silent about it; or not, will killing the soothsayer improve the fate of the saddened in any way? Then Jesus of Nazareth is accused, and Stephen is sentenced to punishment. And if the criminal arouses anger, the crime consists in rearranging the place and customs, and this, according to the accuser, was carried out not by Stephen, but by Jesus; then the court of course had to turn against the accused. O unjust sentence of those listening! since, they say, Jesus will change the laws, then let Stephen be stoned. But how will Jesus change the law, Who so stood for the law, Who established everything for the confirmation of the ancient (laws) and said: “I did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it” (Matthew 5:17); Jesus, Who confirmed the law prohibiting murder to His disciples by completely forbidding anger (Matt. 5:21, 22), Who, together with lust, drove out adultery (Matt. 5:28), Who, by prohibiting revenge for an insult, legitimized not allowing even the beginning of evil insults ( Matt. 5:43-44), Who, by commanding the distribution of property, eradicated passion covetousness. How come this was not remembered and not subjected to research and discussion? I would now like to be present at a meeting of these bloodthirsty judges and ask about the places over which they are raging: where is this famous church, where are those incredibly huge stones, where is this gold, which in price should almost have been equal to the rest of the materials of the church, where are the legal sacred rites, the ram, the calf, the lamb, the heifer, the dove, the turtledove, the scapegoat? If for this purpose they condemn Stephen to death, so that any of these disasters would not befall them, then let them show what they saved for themselves through this lawless murder? If nothing of the kind survived, which is why this sentence was pronounced, then let them say, why is this murder? But we will see in the further depiction of the exploits of Stefan how he takes revenge on the bloodthirsty killers, showered with stones like flakes of snow, with what blows he repels those who shower a hail of stones on him. Let the sons of the Jews recognize the weapon of Christians, which the great Stephen, using to take revenge on the tormentors, gave by example the law for our life. They surrounded the Saint with brutal and inhuman fury, all with one goal in mind: to turn everything that was at hand into weapons against Stephen; and he, like a certain Priest, who, according to the spiritual law, slaughters a pure sacrifice, offers not someone else’s, but his own body, pours out blood instead of a libation, with himself for those who sinned, he propitiated God, Whom he saw in the inaccessible heavens, avenging murder with a good deed, crying out in the ears of the murderers and saying: “Lord, do not put this sin on them” (Acts 7:60). He blotted out their sin with prayer, which the murderers wrote in with their lawless hands, and they, irritated even by prayer, did not stop throwing stones until the great Stephen, covered with them like delicate flowers, or as if covered with some light dew, plunged into a sweet and blissful sleep. But victory preceded (the end of) the struggle, and we see the fighter crowned with feats before the end; for before we examined the feat itself, our word already touched upon the end of the feats. However, I think that our word should not lose sight of that in which the valor of the martyr was especially clearly revealed: what was the gathering of those who were plotting murder and how the spirit of everyone was equally excited to kill, what consent to evil was among those gathered, what was the look of each, what was the appearance, what was the gnashing of teeth, as the Divine Scripture makes it known: “I scattered my hearts and ground my teeth” (Acts 7:54). But standing in the midst of so many and such people, rebelling against all the power of the enemy, acting through these bloodthirsty ones, he defeated them in everything with the greatness of his soul, opposing anger with long-suffering, threats with disdain, fear of death with contempt for life, hatred with love, malice with goodwill, slander with the evidence of truth. The devotee of truth showed himself to be a winner in more than one way; but against every kind of malice that was then revealed by the Jews, he contrasted in himself various virtues; He fought against all kinds of evil and won everything. So I heard that in the gymnastic exercises of wrestlers, those who are superior to others in strength, often, entering into a competition with everyone participating in the race, win victory over all opponents; such was the leader in the field of martyrs; he, having opposed the entire strength of the enemy, triumphs over everyone. For he defeated the false wisdom of the Libertines, Cyrenians and Alexandrians, who fought against him, with true wisdom; fear - with boldness, threat - with contempt, anger - with good deeds, lies - with truth. They were preparing for murder and had already armed their hands with stones, expressing their anger with their gazes and heavy breathing and gnashing of teeth; and he looked at them as brothers and greeted them as fathers; for, “men,” he says, “brothers and fathers, listen” (Acts 7:2). They invented faith-like slander; and for him the host of murderers was a place for teaching the truth; the word was not interrupted by fear, did not weaken from the expected dangers, death was not before his eyes, but having ascended in spirit and looking at those who were in front of him, he, like foolish children, guides their word, using the very thing they believed to prove their error regarding dogmas. Abraham is introduced into the speech and his whole history is presented in a few words; then the following saints appear in order; At the same time, the story is told about Moses, about his birth, upbringing, teaching; about secrecy on the mountain; about how he struck Egypt with plagues, how he saved Israel, how he announced the mystery of the Lord (Acts 7). What especially excited the Sanhedrin and inflamed its anger was the fact that Moses, whom they thought they were studying with special attention, turned out to be a defender of the teachings of Stefan. Therefore, having risen, they bring the matter to an end worthy of both their own bitterness and the desire of Stephen. For he, having crossed the boundaries of nature, before leaving the body, with pure eyes sees the heavenly gates open before him, the open inner sanctuary, and both the most divine glory and the “radiance of glory” (Heb. 1:3). The sight of the Father's glory cannot be described by any word; The “radiance” in an image visible to people is contemplated by the ascetic, appearing as much as human nature can accommodate. And so, having risen above human nature and transformed into angelic beauty (so that he served as an object of surprise for the murderers themselves, when the appearance of his face changed like an angelic dignity), he saw what was inaccessible to the eye and loudly proclaimed the grace that had appeared to him. But they stopped their ears and did not want to listen to the stories of the vision, doing well at least this time; for the ears of the unclean were not worthy to receive the story of the divine appearance. And so, he informed everyone present about grace, conveying with his story to everyone what he alone was awarded; “I see,” he says, “the heavens are open, and the Son of man is standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). They, crying out in a loud voice and stopping their ears, rushed towards him with one accord. It is very good in the story about them and their cry is counted among the deeds, in order to show the similarity of their will with the will of the Sodomites. For their iniquity is also called the Judge. cry; “the cry,” he says, “has multiplied unto me” (Genesis 18:20). And so they cried out so that their cry against Stephen would be heard. what was happening was as if the hands of his opponents were weaving a victorious crown for him. That is why he takes revenge on the murderers with a blessing, asking not for retribution for what was done to him, but with opposite consequences - so that it brings him life, but his opponents death; but praying that what he himself was worthy of should not be deprived of by his enemies, as they assisted him in achieving benefits. This is how one who has matured Christ knows how to treat enemies; because he saw the Lawgiver of patience, he remembered the law commanding us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us and to pray for those who are at enmity with us (Matthew 5:44). But it is not human praise that can glorify an ascetic, and the goal of his feat was not to achieve glory from people; Having surpassed the whole world in the greatness of his deed and exceeded the measure of human strength, he thereby rendered all laudatory eloquence completely powerless. And so his exploits are above any human word; but let his deeds serve us for the salvation of souls. For, as between physical wrestlers, those who have ceased to compete teach gymnastic exercises to young men, instructing them how to repel the attacks of opponents through artificial dexterity; I think so, too, that we should learn piety from the great Stephen, in order, with his help, to avoid the attacks of the Doukhobors. Those who madly rebel against the glory of the Spirit call Stephen an accomplice in their madness, who, looking up to heaven, saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And so, those who pervert the dogmas of piety say that if the Spirit must undoubtedly be numbered with the Father and the Son, then how come Stephen, in a vision, did not see the Spirit with the Son? How can Stephen extend a helping hand to those who are deceived by such words? How will it help those who are weak in the art of arguing? In the same (place of scripture) there is help that overthrows the unbelief of the enemy. You, Doukhoborite, ask: if the glory of the Father and the Son standing at the right hand were visible, then where is the Spirit? If you had the Spirit in you, you would not have missed the word offered about Him, just as those who have lost their sight pass by without recognizing the gold lying at their feet. At least listen now, if you don’t close your ears like the Jews. How did Stephen see the heavenly glory? Who opened the gates of heaven for him? Was it a matter of human power? Or which of the angels raised human nature that was located below to this height? No; This is not what the description says about Stephen, as if he saw what he saw as a result of his special strength, or being filled with angelic help. What does he say? “Now Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, saw the glory of God” and the Only Begotten Son of God (Acts 7:55). It is impossible, as the prophet says, to see the light except by seeing it through the medium of light; for “in Your light,” he says, “we will see light” (Ps. 35:10). And so, if contemplation of light is possible only through the medium of light, then how can one who is outside the rays of the sun look at the sun? And so, since the Only Begotten Son is contemplated in the Light of the Father, that is, in the Holy Spirit emanating from Him, then he who is illuminated by the glory of the Spirit understands the Glory of the Father and the Son. Then how can we call true the Gospel saying that “God is nowhere to be seen” (John 1:18)? How will the words of the Apostle not contradict what was told when he says: “But no one has seen him, but he can see and eat” (1 Tim. 6:16)? For if the glory of the Father and the Son is recognized as being capable of human nature and power, then of course he would be a liar who said that the vision of the deity is impossible for people. But it is necessary to assume that he is not lying and what is being narrated is true. So, the evil thinking of the Doukhobors is clearly revealed, because, according to the testimony of Scripture, like is seen as like. Stephen sees the Divine not with human nature and powers remaining, but filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, by which he was elevated to the contemplation of God. Therefore, if without the Spirit it is impossible even to “say the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 12:3), as the Apostle says, nor to comprehend the Father’s glory, then it is clearly revealed that where the Spirit is, there the Son is seen and together the Father’s glory is contemplated. Another weapon of wickedness is found against us in the same narrative by the combatants of Christ. They say that in this event the lower dignity of the Only Begotten is revealed; for by the fact that He stands at the right hand of the Father, an indication is given that He is subject to the Father. What then is Paul, - I would say to such, what about the Prophet David who lived before him - both, taught by the Spirit, telling about the glory of the Only Begotten? For David says: “The Lord said to My Lord: Sit at My right hand” (Ps. 109:1); and the Apostle says that the Lord sits “at the right hand” of the throne of God (Col. 3:1). Consequently, if standing is a sign of humiliation, then sitting is certainly a sign of equality. Let them either destroy the evidence of Divine dignity, which indicates the height (of being) at the right hand, or They will accept this piously, for there is one teacher for each of those who have spoken - the grace of the Spirit. Stephen saw what he saw, being filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:55), and what he saw, he told; And so, if there is one Teacher who does not disagree with himself (for the teacher is the Spirit of truth abiding in God-inspired men), then how could anyone suspect any disagreement in dogmas! But according to ordinary understanding, they say, another meaning is connected with the concept of sitting and another with the concept of standing. And I agree with this. But the word, in the sense in which it is applied to corporeal objects, cannot be correctly applied to incorporeal nature. In relation to a person, sitting means calming the body on the thigh parts so that the kneecaps, bearing the weight of the body, do not suffer from constant tension; on the contrary, standing refers to an upright position of a person on his feet, not resting on his hips. In relation to the higher nature, sitting and standing are not connected with these concepts; both are equally far from the ordinary meaning (of these words); for we will not understand either the standing on the feet of that which is incorporeal, or the sitting on the thighs of that which has no external appearance; but by each of these words let us piously understand firmness in all good and immutability in everything. He who says that the Deity sits and he who says that It stands do not disagree with each other regarding the meaning, despite the difference in the sayings; the former asserting that the Divinity stands firmly in goodness, and the latter that It unchangeably abides in it. And just as the Prophet David and the Apostle Paul, each speaking in his own expressions about the seat of the Only Begotten, do not allow them to understand that the Son sits on the throne, while the Father stands; so in the words of Stephen, having heard about the standing of the Son, you would incorrectly begin to assume that sitting is characteristic only of the Father. For, as in Paul and David, the seat of the Son on the right hand also implies the seat of the Father, although before there was no talk of the Father; In the same way, in Stephen, the standing of the Son indicates the same position regarding the glory of the Father. For the concept of “image” (Heb. 1:3) can be preserved only if we recognize everything that we understand and see in it as being also in the prototype. Just as in good there is good, in light there is light, and in everything the corresponding properties are reflected in the image of original beauty; so in the sitting of the Son (whatever this name may imply), at the same time there is also the sitting of the Father, and likewise in His standing, the standing of the Father; otherwise, the concept of image would disappear, as soon as its properties changed, it would become other than the Proto-Image. This is what, brothers, we could say in passing to the question that presented itself, since Stephen’s vision gave rise to our word to touch upon the consideration of this subject. Let us, God grant, be not only spectators of Stefan’s feat, but also participants in grace, filled with the Holy Spirit, in the overthrow of our opponents, for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: