Saint Stephen the Younger

Memorial: 28 November
Profile: Monk at the monastery of Saint Auxentius at age fifteen. Abbot of Saint Auxentius in 744. Retired in 756 to live as a hermit. Soon after, the iconoclast movement became very active in the area, led by Emperor Constantine Copronynus V. The emperor tried to enlist Stephen in the movement, but he refused, and was exiled. Years later he returned, and to prove how important it was to respect icons and other religious art, Stephen went to the emperor, pulled out a coin that bore the emperor's likeness, threw it onto the floor, and stomped on it. The emperor understood the importance of his own image; he imprisoned Stephen for 11 months. On his release, Stephen returned to the court and resumed the argument as though nothing has happened. He was ordered executed with more than 300 others who opposed iconoclasm; only the names of Stephen, Saint Basil, Saint Andrew, and Saint Peter have survived.
Born: 714 at Constantinople
Died: scourged, stoned and dragged to death through the streets of Constantinople in 764
Patronage: coin collectors
numismatists
smelters
Additional Information: Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
For All The Saints, by Katherine Rabenstein
Friars Minor.Org, by Edward O'Shaughnessy
Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson
Translate: español | français | deutsch | italiano | português