The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem

Abstract

AbstractAs the site of only a small and obscure Christian population, Jerusalem witnessed few instances of anti-Christian persecution between 135 and 313 ce. This fact became a source of embarrassment to the city in late antiquity—a period when martyr traditions, relics, and shrines were closely intertwined with local prestige. At that time, the city had every incentive to stretch the fame of its few apostolic martyrs as far as possible—especially the fame of the biblical St. Stephen, the figure traditionally regarded as the first Christian martyr (Acts 6–8). What Jerusalem lacked in the quantity of its martyrs, it believed it could compensate for in an exclusive, local claim to the figure widely hailed as the “Protomartyr,” “firstborn of the martyrs,” and “chief of confessors.” This book traces the rise of the cult of Stephen in Jerusalem, exploring such historical episodes as the fabrication of the saint’s relics, the construction of a grand basilica in his honor, and the multiplication of his feast days. It argues that local church authorities promoted devotion to Stephen in the fifth century in a conscious attempt to position him as a patron saint for Jerusalem—a symbol of the city’s Christian identity and power.