Stephen is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he was a deacon in the early church at Jerusalem who angered members of various synagogues by his teachings. Accused of blasphemy at his trial, he made a speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him and was then stoned to death. Saul of Tarsus, later known as Paul the Apostle, a Pharisee and Roman citizen who would later become an apostle, participated in Stephen's martyrdom.
Saint Stephen by Carlo Crivelli
Stoning of Saint Stephen, altarpiece of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, by Jacopo & Domenico Tintoretto
Stoning of Saint Stephen by Giovanni Battista Lucini
Saint Stephen by Luis de Morales
The Acts of the Apostles is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire.
Acts 26:7–8, 20 on Papyrus 29 (c. AD 250)
Ministry of the Apostles: Russian icon by Fyodor Zubov, 1660
Acts 1:1–2a from the 14th century Minuscule 223
Paul's conversion, from Livre d'Heures d'Étienne Chevalier (c. 1450–1460), Jean Fouquet, in the Château de Chantilly