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July 18th is the commemoration of the Feast of St. Stephen, chief among the deacons & first of the Martyrs (Hido d'Mor Estefanous ris'ho damshamshone u qadmoyo dsohde) according to the Liturgical Calendar of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Mor Estefanous was a Jew who probably lived in one of the Hellenic provinces of the Roman Empire & was among the minority Jewish community who spoke Greek instead of Hebrew. He would later come to live in Jerusalem & became a Christian. At the time, the Christians were divided into the Hebrew speaking & the Greek speaking minority(Hellenists). The Hellenists felt neglected & marginalized within the Christian community. The Holy Apostles asked the faithful to choose seven men of good repute, full of Holy Spirit & wisdom; to be appointed for the business which the apostles themselves were too busy for. The apostles ordained them the first Deacons of the Church (Acts 6:6) who would strengthen the faith of the community & spread the word of God to the multitude. Among the 7, Stephen was the head. He is described as, "a man full of faith & the Holy Ghost" (Acts 6:5).Deacon Stephen was an eloquent speaker & performed wondrous miracles (Acts 6:8). This provoked hostility of the elders of some synagogues in Jerusalem. They were not able to resist the wisdom of Stephen. They secretly introduced men to accuse him of blasphemy. Stephen was seized & taken to the Sanhedrin (the Jewish Council). At the council, false witnesses were set up against him. Undismayed, he replied tactfully. As the members of the council listened to Stephen, they became furious. But full of Holy Spirit, he looked up to heaven & saw the glory of God & Jesus on the right hand (Acts 7:54-56). The council & the angered crowd took him outside the city & stoned him. The murderers laid their clothes on the ground to be guarded by Saul, who would later become St. Paul. As Stephen died, he cried, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” & he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:58-60). Thus Mor Estefanous attained the crown of martyrdom. He is commemorated every Sunday in the 4th Thubden/Dypthic of the Holy Qurbono, “the illustrious St. Stephen, chief of the Deacons, & first of the Martyrs.”Biography courtesy of, 'Martyrs, Saints and Prelates of the Syriac Orthodox Church'Oh Mor Estefanous! Plead for us before God's throne of grace. May your intercession be with all the deacons of our Holy Church. Amen. In the tradition of the Syriac Orthodox Church in the Middle East and their Suryoye diaspora, St. Stephen’s day on January 8th is a special day where a full-deacon (Shamosho Evengeloyo) is also allowed to read the Evengalion Qadisho (The Holy Gospel) during the Holy Qurbono or Prayers. Nowadays, lower ranks of the deaconate such as Aphudykano and Quroyo are also given the chance, with the discretion of the celebrant (because not all parishes have a full-deacon and according to old canons only 7 full deacons allowed per diocese). This tradition is currently not practiced in Malankara.The Holy Bible readings from the Church Lectionary:Evening:St. Mark 12:1-12Morning:St. John 8:34-59Before Holy Qurbono:Deuteronomy 34:7-12Isaiah 37:8-20Bar Sirach 50:1-12, Chapter 30, 51:4II Chronicles 24:20-25Holy Qurbono:Acts 7:54-8:2I Corinthians 1:10-17, 16:15-24St. Matthew 23:34-39Tone of the day: 8Hymn from Sh'himo of Wednesday Evening: https://youtu.be/Ue9kWhdDjXMSyriac Prayers: https://tinyurl.com/2e5jd3dw Huthomo: https://youtu.be/3ifVtMsGNwkhttp://www.malankaraworld.com/Library/sermons/Sermon-of-the-week_Martyrdom-St-Stephen.htmRSoH