On December 27, we commemorate the holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle Stephen the Protomartyr. The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle Stephen the Proto-martyr was an early Christian convert from among the Hellenistic Jews, one of the original seven deacons ordained by the Apostles, and the first martyr of the Orthodox Church. The Church remembers the martyrdom of St. Stephen on December 27, and the translations of his relics on August 2. Life of Saint Stephen St. Stephen was