By Fr. George Dorbarakis
Venerable Stephen was born in Constantinople in 715, to pious parents, John and Anna. He lived in asceticism from his youth in the Monastery of Saint Auxentios, which was in Bithynia. The monastery was located on a high place, called the Mountain of Saint Auxentios. He became abbot of the monks there. The fame of his spiritual struggles was heard everywhere and the fragrance of his virtues led many to him. He died a martyr’s death due to the veneration of the holy icons, during the reign of Constantine, called Copronymos. Before his martyric end, Copronymos sentenced him to eleven months in chains and prison. Then he ordered that they drag him along the ground and stone him like the Protomartyr Stephen, hence he was called Stephen the New. They then beat him with a club on the brain and after crushing his head, he gave up his spirit in 767.
Saint Joseph, the Hymnographer of the Saint, cannot help but emphasize, on the one hand, the double crown that Stephen received from the judge of the contest Lord: of monastic asceticism and martyrdom ("You received double crowns of asceticism and athletic contest, Father"), on the other hand, the similar death he had with his namesake, the Protomartyr Stephen, that is, the death by stoning and beatings ("the lawless people... stoned you like the first athlete, and, Father, crushed your holy head." According to the established practice of the Fathers of our Church, something that Saint Joseph also follows, the two crowns, of asceticism and martyrdom, are inextricably linked to each other by the relationship of cause and effect: his ascetic exercise also led to martyrdom, as if martyrdom were the crowning glory of his ascetic labors. “Our God who alone is the judge of contests, Venerable Stephen, has crowned with martyric honors your truly ascetic labors." And it is true: with exceptions, the martyrdom of blood can only be experienced by those who have contested themselves in the martyrdom of conscience, something that is particularly evident in ascetic labors.
Venerable Stephen was led to martyrdom because of his insistence on the Orthodox faith, which at that time (8th century AD) was demonstrated by the acceptance of icons (“you were martyred because you revered the icons of all the saints”). He was one of those who, par excellence, contributed to the consolidation of Orthodox thought through the actions of his life. Let us not forget that iconoclasm was in reality a Christological heresy, that is, it questioned the true image of Christ as God and man – which is why he himself had icons of the Lord, the Panagia, and other Saints, which he revered, kissed, and venerated, of course paying them honorable homage. A hymn by our Hymnographer even “paints” the Saint’s attitude towards icons. The Saint, apparently kneeling before the icon of the Blessed Mother of our Lord, whom she holds in her arms, tearfully beseeches Her and Her Son, praying that they would provide a solution to the problem that was troubling the Church and perceptibly feeling the grace of the Holy Spirit, which empowered him to abhor the impious doctrine of the impious king, and consequently to give his life for the true faith. "Kissing the august icon of Christ and of her who gave birth to Him, blessed one, you abhorred the impious doctrine of the impious king, by the strength of the Divine Spirit."
The Hymnographer’s description in this case becomes a point of orientation. In every problem, ours or that of others, our prayerful attitude before the icon of our Lord and our Panagia is our weapon par excellence. This prayer, strengthened by some effort to implement the commandments of our Lord, leads us to the way out of our problems. And the most important way out most of the time is the Lord's offering of the grace of patience, so that we can endure the problems.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
