St. Stephen The First Martyr of the Church

Acts Ch 7 Verses 49 -53
"The heavens are my throne,
the earth is my footstool;
What kind of house can you build me?
What is my resting-place to be like ?
Did not my hand make all these things?
says the Lord !
Stephen was announcing to the people,
"You stiff-necked people,
uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are
always opposing the Holy spirit just as your
fathers did before you. Was there ever
any prophet whom your fathers did not
persecute?  In their day , they put to death
those who foretold the coming of the Just
One; now you in your turn have become
his betrayers and murderers.
You who received the law through the 
ministry of angels have not
observed it."

Acts Ch 7 Verses 54-60
Stephen's Martyrdom: Those who listened
to his words were stung to the heart ; they
ground their teeth in anger at him. Stephen
meanwhile, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked to the sky above and saw the glory
of God, and Jesus standing at God's right
hand. "Look !" he exclaimed. "I see an
opening in the sky, and the son of Man
standing at God's right hand." The
onlookers were shouting aloud, holding their
hands over their ears as they did so. Then
they rushed at him as one man, dragged
him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The witnesses meanwhile were piling their
cloaks at the feet of a young man named
Saul.  As Stephen was being stoned he
could be heard praying, "Lord Jesus, 
receive my spirit." He fell to his knees
and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, 
do not hold this sin against them."
and with that he died.

Acts Ch 8 Verses 1-3
The Church Persecuted Saul  for his part,
concurred in the act of killing. That day
saw the beginning of a great persecution
of the church in Jerusalem.  All except the
apostles scattered throughout the country side
of Judea and Samaria  Devout men buried
Stephen, bewailing him loudly as they did
so,  After that , Saul began to harass the
church. he entered house after house,
dragged men and women out, and threw
them into jail.