ST STEPHEN’S DAY IN 2016
The Feast of Stephen, mentioned in the song about good King Wenceslas,
is often forgotten, since it has too strong a competition in Christmas. Yet in
recent years this memorial day of the first Christian martyr has become
important as a day of prayer for persecuted and repressed Christians.
Christians have experienced persecution from the very beginning of their
Faith. We now know more about this since we have met refugees. In 2007
the Church in South Germany declared St Stephen’s day as the day of
prayer for the persecuted Christians in the world.
Stephen has been known as the first martyr. The Acts of the Apostles tell us
that he was made a deacon to care for the widows and orphans of the Greek
speaking Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, a man of grace and power. Called
before the Sanhedrin, he was condemned and executed by stoning, possibly
between the years 36AD and 40AD. In artistic tradition, he is depicted with
three stones. He is one of the most important saints of the Middle Ages,
patron saint of many famous churches, like the cathedral in Vienna. In
Europe, many charities are named after him. The Feast day was well
established from the 5th century and there is a rich tradition of legends
associated with him.
Although artists have depicted the theme of Stephen from antiquity to the
present day, we hardly know anything about the historic Stephen. It remains
unclear why and what for Stephen really was stoned to death. The Bible
does not tell if he was executed as a Jew, as a Christian or as a Jew who
believed in Jesus. For that reason, his feast day can serve as a day of
prayer for all people persecuted for their faith.
The Catholic Church in Germany has started this practice by remembering
the persecuted church in the communist countries during the times of the
DDR. Yet those praying for persecuted Christians think this is an example
for all men and all faiths under pressure, and we should be asking for
freedom of religion as a human right.
These days refugee Christians who come from a Syrian-orthodox
background all have different stories of persecutions to tell. Ibrahim’s family
fled when the first relatives were murdered, while for Wassim persecution
started only when he reached refugee camps and was pressurised by
Muslims. It was often enough to have a Christian fore name like Michael or
Martha. Every one of them is a ‘Stephen’, as the pastor of the Hamburg
church thinks, even one called Mohammed.
Mohammed does not want to be called by his name. He now calls himself
‘Mo’, since he does not want to be a Muslim any more. When asked why, he
shows the scars on his chest and shoulder from the wounds he received in
his home town in Iran, when he was attacked without warning by a group of
StOM Page 11