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Saint Stephen the Younger ( el, , ''Hagios Stephanos ho neos''; 713/715 – 28 November 764 or 765) was a
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
monk from
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
who became one of the leading opponents of the iconoclastic policies of Emperor
Constantine V Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able ...
(r. 741–775). He was executed in 764, and became the most prominent
iconodule Iconodulism (also iconoduly or iconodulia) designates the religious service to icons (kissing and honourable veneration, incense, and candlelight). The term comes from Neoclassical Greek εἰκονόδουλος (''eikonodoulos'') (from el, ε ...
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
. His feast day is celebrated annually on
28 November Events Pre-1600 * 587 – Treaty of Andelot: King Guntram of Burgundy recognizes Childebert II as his heir. * 936 – Shi Jingtang is enthroned as the first emperor of the Later Jin by Emperor Taizong of Liao, following a revolt agai ...
. His hagiography, the ''Life of St. Stephen the Younger'', is an important historical source.


Biography

Stephen was born in
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
in 713 or, according to the ''Life'', shortly after 11 August 715. His father, Gregory, was a craftsman. His mother was called Anna, and he had two older sisters, Theodote and an unnamed one.. On
Holy Saturday Holy Saturday ( la, Sabbatum Sanctum), also known as Great and Holy Saturday (also Holy and Great Saturday), the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday (in Portugal and Brazil), Saturday of the Glory, Sabado de Gloria, and Black Saturday or Easter ...
716, he was baptised in the
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
by Patriarch Germanus I. In his sixteenth year (circa 731), he was brought by his parents to Mt. Auxentius in Bithynia, where he became a
monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
. He visited Constantinople again for his father's funeral some years later, and brought his mother and sisters to the convent of Mt. Auxentius. On his 31st year (743/746), his mentor, John, died, and Stephen succeeded him, founding a
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...
. In his 42nd year (754/757), he retired as a
hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
in a
cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
. He refused to accept the decisions of the iconoclast
Council of Hieria The iconoclast Council of Hieria was a Christian council of 754 which viewed itself as ecumenical, but was later rejected by the Second Council of Nicaea (787) and by Catholic and Orthodox churches, since none of the five major patriarchs were ...
(754), but it was not until circa 760 that he began suffering persecution: he was accused of sexual relations with his mother, and of illegally
tonsuring Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice ...
George Synkletos, a favourite of the Emperor
Constantine V Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able ...
.. Some modern scholars, however, reject the conventional story whereby Constantine's persecution of monks was a result of the latter championing the cause of the iconophiles. Rather, it has been suggested that the emperor's drive against monasticism had military and financial reasons, since the monasteries paid no tax and the monks were exempt from military duty. Consequently, the persecution of Stephen may have had more to do with his popularity and strong advocacy of monasticism, rather than his active opposition to iconoclasm as reported in his ''Life''. Constantine V then sent soldiers who arrested him and brought him to a monastery in Chrysopolis. There again he refused to accept the decisions of Hieria, and was banished to the island of
Prokonnesos Marmara Island ( ) is a Turkish island in the Sea of Marmara. With an area of it is the largest island in the Sea of Marmara and is the second largest island of Turkey after Gökçeada (older name in Turkish: ; el, Ίμβρος, links=no ''I ...
. In his second year of exile (circa 764), he was brought to the Phiale prison in Constantinople, and was questioned by the emperor himself. After almost a year of imprisonment in the prison of the city's ''
praetorium The Latin term (also and ) originally identified the tent of a general within a Roman castrum (encampment), and derived from the title praetor, which identified a Roman magistrate.Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 2 ed., ...
'', he was condemned to death by Constantine, and dragged by soldiers through the streets and was clubbed to death. His corpse was dragged through the streets, while his
skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...
was rescued by one of his followers and brought to the Dius Monastery. His relics are recorded in various Constantinopolitan churches and monasteries during the 13th–15th centuries. His body was deposited either at the Lips Monastery (according to Russian travellers) or the ''martyrion'' of St. Stephen the Protomartyr in the quarter of Constantinianae, and his right hand was at the
Pantokrator Monastery '' '' tr, Zeyrek Camii'' , image = Molla Zeyrek Camii.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption =The mosque viewed from north east. From left to right, one can see the apses of the ''Church of Christ Pantocrato ...
. His skull, which became the subject of a special procession presided over by the
Eparch of Constantinople The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...
on his feast day (28 November), was located at the Peribleptos Monastery in the 14th century, and is today claimed to be in the possession of the Saint Panteleimon monastery at Mount Athos..


Depiction

As a prominent defender of the images, and iconoclasm's greatest martyr, Stephen is portrayed holding an icon or a
diptych A diptych (; from the Greek δίπτυχον, ''di'' "two" + '' ptychē'' "fold") is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world w ...
of icons, usually displaying the busts of
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
and the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
. He is also one of the witnesses in the famous Russian icon celebrating the "
Triumph of Orthodoxy The Feast of Orthodoxy (or Sunday of Orthodoxy or Triumph of Orthodoxy) is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Church and other churches using the Byzantine Rite to commemorate, originally, only the final defeat o ...
".


References


Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen The Younger 710s births 760s deaths 8th-century Byzantine monks 8th-century Christian saints Byzantine Iconoclasm People from Constantinople Byzantine saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Executed Byzantine people Byzantine prisoners and detainees 8th-century executions by the Byzantine Empire