Encomium in sanctum Stephanum protomartyrem ii

Another Encomium by the Same Author on Saint Stephen the Protomartyr. Christ came into the world for salvation, and after him the fruits of the Church blossomed. The martyr of truth shone, and the martyrs of the great economy shone together. The disciples followed the Teacher, treading in the Lord's footsteps: after Christ, the Christ-bearers; after the sun of righteousness, the luminaries of the inhabited world. And first among us Stephen blossomed, not woven from Jewish thorns, but offered as the first fruit to the Lord from the abundance of the Church. For the Jews, having woven a crown of thorns, placed it on the head of the Saviour, displaying to the Master of the vineyard fruits worthy of their evil husbandry, as the prophecy foretold, saying: The vineyard of the Lord Sabaoth is the house of Israel, and the man Judah is a beloved new plant. I intended to make a grape, but he made thorns. But the workers of evangelical truth offer to the Lord, as a first prelude of piety and first offering of the husbandry, Stephen the holy man, like a crown truly composed of many and various virtues.

First, this remarkable man was entrusted with the care of widows, having been attested by the judgment and selection of the apostles to be a faithful man, full of the Holy Spirit, and then by the power of spiritual wisdom. For he displayed such advocacy for the proclamation in the divine word that even the great wonders of divine energy accompanied his teachings. For Stephen, it is said, full of faith and power, performed great signs. He did not deem it right that any hindrance arise to his zeal for the widows, but he eagerly attended to this and did not neglect that; and in him there was a great marvel and an advantage of a diligent mind. He was entrusted with widows, and he trafficked in souls, feeding some with bread, instructing others with word, setting before some a bodily table, and presenting to others a spiritual hearth. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit: by the goodness of his disposition, undertaking the service of the poor; by the boldness and power of the Spirit, silencing the enemies of the truth. He refuted all, and vanquished all with the word of truth, demolishing arguments and every height raised against the knowledge of God. Such was the strength of his speech present in him that, according to the testimony of holy Scripture, no one could resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. But the herald of truth was brought before the council of unbelief.

For we must, having thus run alongside the Protomartyr, pay him what is owed, which the weakness of the body did not permit us to fulfill yesterday, and today to fulfill the proper commemoration for the holy apostles. For first, the encomia of the saints are not limited by days or by times: "For the righteous man," it says, "will be an eternal memorial." And second, those whose purpose is not divided. Therefore, neither are martyrs without apostles, nor again apostles without them. For the apostles are teachers of the martyrs, and the martyrs are images of the apostles. Indeed, bearing their image and character, the blessed Stephen first bound on the crown of martyrdom through death, and by the cross. Yet through the endurance of his martyrdom he honored his teachers, and truly became a crown: for a crown of good teachers was not a matter of honor from praise, but was a progress of the Church, just as the divine Apostle, writing to the Corinthians, says: "My beloved and longed-for brothers, my joy and crown, stand thus." But let us return to the matter at hand. The Christ-bearer entered the council of the Christ-killers; the sheep leaped into the synagogue of wolves. But it was not simply a sheep preyed upon by beasts, but a sheep shepherded by Christ and contending against the wolves. For they raged and were exasperated, biting the flock with accusations and threats; but he tore them apart more with his refutations than they did with their threats and accusations.

Let us not pass over the words superficially or cursorily. For this man dared to speak boldly against such a gathering of evildoers and such an onslaught of wolves against injustice, and to say after that great discourse: "Stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did," and so forth. Thus he who appeared on earth, yet mirrored the things in heaven; and though clothed in human nature, transformed his countenance and form into that of an angel (and none of this is incongruous; for it was truly fitting that in the Protomartyr the dignity of the martyrs be displayed, and that all might henceforth know the works of the new grace). The desire for martyrdom not only bestows angelic rank, but also opens the gates of heaven, no longer sending souls to death, but entrusting the spirit into the hands of Christ. For the Lord's own man, the Savior, addressed his own Father on the cross, saying: "Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit." But Stephen, the servant of Christ, raising his eyes to the Master, says: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." With this utterance he laid down his soul. Angels received their fellow dancer, rather pelting him from above with praises than the Jews from below with stones. But Stephen, having thus contended in the noble contest, received his portion in the heavens.

All these precious stones suddenly became interwoven with this Stephen: the most divine heralds of the Gospels, after them the martyrs, and after them again those who shone with saving virtue; but preeminently those commemorated at this present time, flashing forth much and brilliant beauty of piety—I mean Peter, James, and John, who are both leaders of apostolic harmony and crowns of ecclesiastical glory. For I do not depart from the name of Stephen; but speaking many times and ten thousand times, still thirsting, I take it up again: for there is no satiety of Stephen for those who await the blessed end of crowns. Therefore, if one must speak truthfully, from Stephen we again feast on crowns, and we share in their memories, since we hope to share, and to remain, and to be glorified together; for the communion of faith is multiplied as the promise confirms. And again for us, brothers, the enjoyment of good things, because the Lord's day of resurrection shines together with the memory of the martyrs. For on this day the illumination of the glory of the Gospel of Christ preeminently enlightened our minds, on which, having blossomed forth the saving rays of righteousness, it obliterated the darkness of impiety and brightened souls with the knowledge of truth. And behold for me the wondrous and greatest benefaction.

For the perceptible sun, rising from the east and heralding the day with the forerunning gleams of its rays, covers and envelops the region beneath the heavens with its radiance, and conceals and dims all the choruses of the stars together, so that it alone is seen circling in the heavenly vaults. But our Lord Jesus Christ, having risen for us from on high, according to the prophecy that speaks of him, "In which the East from on high visited us," not only did not conceal the saints who shone like stars before his advent and became his forerunners, but he made them more brilliant and caused other luminaries to shine together with him. For prophets shone forth after his coming, more so than before it. For while prophecy was still dim in the evangelical outcomes of the Scribes, the Savior, having come into the world, illuminated and clarified all, becoming the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. For he did not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them. And concerning the new grace, the Savior, speaking of himself, says, "I am the light of this world"; yet the source of goodness, proceeding from the good Father, did not deem it unworthy to impart his own appellation to those who serve him, but says to his disciples, "You are the light of the world," and, "Let your works shine before men." And what greater thing we have to bring forward as a reminder of what has been said, this, by the grace of God, we will again set forth: John the Baptist, called a lamp, proclaimed beforehand in the Psalms, and testified to by the Lord.

The Prophet, speaking in the person of the Father, says of him through his hymnody: "I have prepared a lamp for my Christ," that is, "I have prepared a servant and forerunner of the light." And the Lord, confirming the Father's voice, says, "That was the burning lamp." Yet, being a lamp, he was so far from being dimmed by the presence of the Lord, who was the sun of righteousness, that he shone even more, becoming both herald and theologian of the Savior himself, the Baptist. John, then, was called a lamp because he illuminated only one house, that of Israel. But the apostles of the Savior were proclaimed not lamps, nor stars, but luminaries, shining not in one region or one corner, but illuminating the entire region beneath the heavens. And the leaders and chiefs of these are Peter, James, and John, who today are glorified by their testimonies for Christ, having run in harmony toward the end of their lives, but having contended in different ways of martyrdom. For the one who was appointed leader and chief of the apostolic chorus bore away glory befitting his rank, honored by the suffering similar to that of the Savior; for he was nailed to a cross, imprinting the lordly image of the king (and by lordly image I mean the cross), not ashamed of the passion, but exulting in the great trophy. For neither to them, nor to us, nor to those after us, nor to any other, of our Lord Jesus Christ, as Paul also says... for thus Peter also appears to hold in honor the venerable...

For he deemed it proper to be hung by the head by those who crucified him, out of great reverence, lest he appear equal to the Savior, who was crucified for the whole of humanity and, with his arms spread wide as on the cross, embraced the whole world. James, however, had his head cut off, hastening to receive his true head, Christ. For Christ is the head of a man, according to the Apostle, and the head of the whole Church together. The blessed John, having contended in many and various struggles throughout his life and having excelled in all the achievements of piety, was judged to have ended in vain, as it were, in water, and was numbered among the choir of martyrs (for among judges, martyrdom is judged not by the outcome of the suffering, but by the choice of desire). Such was the manner of death for those who, through death, bestowed immortal memory upon the Churches. And it was truly fitting that the commemorations of the aforementioned men be celebrated together, not only because of the harmony of their

piety, but also because of the equal honor of their rank. For these alone always share the Lord's leisure, and hold a special place and freedom beyond the rest of the apostles, not by human favor's adoption, but by the divine judgment of truth. Indeed, one can find that in the greatest of miracles, they alone were taken by the Lord as the most trustworthy and truest witnesses of what occurred: this, on the one hand, at the vision on the mountain (for only Peter, James, and John were there when the Lord, having transformed his own body, changed it into a glorious and more radiant divinity, presenting Moses and Elijah within himself, and overshadowing them with the cloud of light, revealed that great image of the kingdom); this, on the other hand, at the raising of Jairus's daughter, whom he revived when she had died; for there too he had these as observers of the miracle that took place. Moreover, not to dwell on each detail, even at the very time of the saving passion, taking the same men, he dared to say, as to faithful and most steadfast men: "Now my soul is troubled." These things have been said by us, not to disparage the rest of the apostles, but to testify to the virtue of those mentioned; and if one must speak truthfully, also as a common encomium of the apostles; for to define preeminences and progressions among the saints would be not of human judgment, but of God's discernment and truth.

We, who have been deemed worthy to share in the memorials of such and so great men, must give thanks, not as much as we owe—for that is impossible—but as much as we are able, for that is acceptable. The saints demand these honors from us, not that they might gain anything by being praised, but that we might share in being benefited. And I think that no one among the pious is ignorant of this further point: that we celebrate the commemorations not only of Peter, and James, and John, but also of the entire apostolic harmony together. For if, according to the truth of the doctrines, holding the order of members, they complete the form of one body, then clearly when one part of me is glorified, as the Apostle says, all the members are glorified together, and especially in the case of those blessed and most perfect men, for whom everything agrees with truth, and whose way of life is of one mind, and whose faith is of one belief, and just as the advantages of piety are common to them, so too are the solemn praises from the truth common. And who would not be reasonably delighted, and filled with the Holy Spirit itself, having been deemed worthy to share in the apostolic chorus, which led the whole world to the knowledge of truth, which spread the nets of piety over the whole world, and everywhere set the snares of truth, so that, having caught all humanity together, which had been wildened by evil, they might bring it to the one who tames and saves? For their sound went out into every land.

The foundations of the Church, the pillars and supports of the truth, these are the ever-flowing springs of salvation, which pour forth a great, rich, and godlike stream of teaching. To these the prophetic voice also directs us, saying: Draw water with joy from the springs of the Savior. Peter, the head of the apostles, is remembered, and with him the remaining members of the Church are glorified together; and the Church of God is strengthened. For he is, according to the gift given him by the Lord, the unbreakable and most secure rock upon which the Savior built the Church. Again, James and John are remembered, and as they are called sons of thunder by the Savior, they bring with them all the rain-bearing clouds; for when the thunder breaks, the clouds must also gather. Now, the apostolic and prophetic words are to be understood as clouds, and even if the times of their proclamation are different, they are in harmony

the laws of piety; for from one and the same Spirit their gifts have been set in motion. But why dare to pursue what is impossible, and attempt to commemorate apostolic virtue in a manner worthy of it? Our ambition for praise is not directed toward Simon, known from his fishing, but toward his steadfast faith, and the support of the whole Church at once. Nor again do we direct our speech toward the sons of Zebedee, but toward the Boanerges, interpreted as sons of thunder. Where now will the very brief voice of speech appear, when the ears of all are filled with the sound of such and so great a thunder? Therefore, having hastened to fulfill only this one thing—gratitude toward the saints—we take refuge in safe silence, knowing well that we are deemed worthy to share in the memories of the saints by this one thing: by imitating and emulating their virtues, not by carrying their life around in speech, but by preserving their manner in our intention. For what will show us to be genuine disciples of theirs is not custom with irrationality, but piety with reverence, a life of like glory, and a manner of like zeal. Do you honor the memory of martyrs? Then honor also their intention; for the harmony of intention is communion with the memory. Did the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of the Gospel of Christ shine only for them? Was grace sent forth only to them?

The commandments are common, the way of life is common, one is the umpire of the contests, one is the prize of truth, of which may we all be deemed worthy, through the prayers and intercessions of the saints who have been mentioned, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.