Peter, Paul And Stephen

Εἰ μὴ νυκτερινῆς ἄγρας ἀπέτυχεν ὁ Πέτρος, οὐκ ἂν τῆς ἡμερινῆς ἐπέτυχε, κaὶ εἰ μὴ αἰσθητῶς ἐτυφλοῦτο ὁ Παῦλος, οὐκ ἂν πνευματιχῶς ἀνέδλεψε, καὶ εἰ μὴ βλάσφημος ἐσυκοφαντεῖτο ὁ Στέφανος, οὐκ ἂν, τῶν οὐρανῶν αὐτῷ ἀνεῳχθέντων, τὸν Κύριον ἐθεάσατο. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.960b

If Peter had not failed in his nocturnal trial, he would have not have achieved so much in the light of day, and unless Paul had been corporeally blinded, he would not have received spiritual vision, and unless Stephen had been accused of blasphemy by informers, the heavens would not have opened for him and he would not have seen the Lord. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works

Freedom Of Speech

Τοῦτο παῤῥησία ἀνδρὸς τὸν σταυρὸν ἔχοντος. Μιμώμεθα τοίνυν καὶ ἡμεῖς ταύτην, εἰ καὶ πολέμου οὐκ ἔστι καιρὸς, ἀλλὰ παῤῥησίας ἀεὶ καιρός ἐστιν. Ἐλάλουν γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐν τοῖς μαρτυρίοις σου ἐναντίον βασιλέων, καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχυνόμην. Ἂν τοίνυν Ἕλλησι συμπλεκώμεθα, οὕτως αὐτοὺς ἐπιστομίζωμεν χωρὶς θυμοῦ, χωρὶς τραχύτητος. Ἂν μὲν γὰρ μετὰ θυμοῦ τοῦτο ποιῶμεν, οὐκ ἔτι παῤῥησία, ἀλλὰ πάθος εἶναι δοκεῖ· ἂν δὲ ἐπιεικῶς, ὄντως ἐστὶν αὕτη παῤῥησία. Οὐ γὰρ δυνατὸν ὁμοῦ κατὰ ταυτὸν καὶ κατόρθωμα εἶναι καὶ ἐλάττωμα. Ἡ παῤῥησία, κατόρθωμα· ὁ θυμὸς, ἐλάττωμα. Δεῖ τοίνυν ἡμᾶς, εἰ μέλλομεν παῤῥησίαν ἔχειν, καθαροὺς εἶναι τοῦ θυμοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἐκείνῳ τις λογίσηται τὰ ῥήματα. Κἂν δίκαια λέγῃς μετὰ θυμοῦ, τὸ πᾶν ἀπώλεσας, κἂν παῤῥησιάζῃ, κἂν νουθετῇς, κἂν ὁτιοῦν πράττῃς. Ὅρα τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον οὐ μετὰ θυμοῦ διαλεγόμενον· οὐ γὰρ δὴ ὕβρισεν, ἀλλὰ προφητικοῦ αὐτοὺς ἀνέμνησε λόγου. Ὅτι γὰρ οὐκ ἦν θυμοῦ, ἔδειξεν, ὅτε κακῶς ἔπασχε, τότε ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν εὐχόμενος καὶ λέγων· Μὴ στήσῃς αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην. Οὕτως οὐκ ὀργιζόμενος αὐτοῖς, ἀλλὰ ἀλγῶν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν καὶ δακνόμενος, ταῦτα ἐφθέγγετο· ἐπεὶ καὶ περὶ τῆς ὄψεως διὰ τοῦτο εἶπεν, ὅτι Εἶδον τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ πρόσωπον ἀγγέλου, ἵν' αὐτοὺς ἐφελκύσηται. Καθαροὶ τοίνυν θυμοῦ ὦμεν. Οὐ κατοικεῖ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἔνθα θυμός· ἐπικατάρατος ὁ θυμώδης. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος Ὑπομηνμα εἰς τας Πραξεις των Ἀποστολων, Ὁμολια ΙΖ' Source: Migne PG 60.137

Such is the freedom of speech of a man bearing the Cross. Let us then also imitate Stephen, for even if it is not a time of war, yet it is always the time for freedom of speech. 'For, I spoke your testimonies before kings,' says another, 'and I was not ashamed.' 1 If, then, we are among those who do not believe, let us close their mouths without anger, and without harshness, for if we do it with anger, it is no longer freedom of speech but it seems to be passion; if we do it with gentleness, there is freedom of speech. Success and failure cannot exist together in one and the same thing. Freedom of speech is success, anger is failure. Therefore if we are to be free in our speech, we must be cleansed of anger so that no one may attribute our words to that. Even though you speak righteously, when you speak with anger, you ruin it all, no matter how freely you speak, or how fairly you reprove. Look to Stephen, see how free from passion he is as he speaks to them, for he did not utter abuse, but he reminded them of the words of the Prophets. And to show it was not anger, when he was suffering evil, he prayed for them, saying, 'Do not hold this sin against them.' 2 Thus he was not angry with them, but he said these things in grief and sorrow, and this is why it speaks of his appearance, that they saw his face and it was like the face of an angel, so that they might be moved. Let us then be cleansed of anger. The Holy Spirit does not dwell where there is anger, but the angry man is cursed. Saint John Chrysostom, On The Acts Of The Apostles, from Homily 17 1 Psalm 118.46 2 Acts 7.59

Anger And The Enemy

Positis genibus clamavit dicens: ne statuas illis hoc peccatcum. Ira vide quid noceat. Agnosce inimicam tuam: agnosce cum qua pugnas in theatro pectoris tui. Angustum theatrum; sed Deus spectat: ibi doma inimicam tuam. Vis videre quam sit ista vera tua inimica? Modo ostendo. Oraturus es Deum: ventura est hora ut dicas: Pater noster, qui es in coelis. Venturus es ad illum versum: Dimitte nobis debita nostra. Quid sequitur? Sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Ibi illa inimica stat contra te. Sepit viam orationis tuae: murum erigit, et non est qua transeas. Bene totum dixisti: Pater noster. Cucurrit: Dimitte nobis debita nostra. Et quid postea? Sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. En ipsa adversaria contradicit; nec ante velum, sed intus: in ipso secretario cordis tui, ibi tibi clamat, contradicit. Qualis inimica, fratres, quae contradicit? Sicut et nos dimittimus. Non permittitur ut saevias contra inimicum tuum: in istam saevias. Melior est qui vincit iram, quam qui capit civitatem, Scriptura dicit. Quod dixi modo, scriptum est: Melior est qui vincit iram, quam qui capit civitatem. Numquid non bellator imperator quando venit ad aliquos hostes, et invenit civitatem munitam, armatis instructam, optimam, adversantem sibi, si illam ceperit, si illam vicerit, si illam everterit, triumphos quaerit? Sicut autem narrat Scriptura: Melior est qui vincit iram, quam qui capit civitatem. In manu tua est. Non potes illam interimere, potes illam reprimere. Si fortis es, iram vince: et civitati parce. Video vos attentos, scio quam bene accepistis. Deus adsit certaminibus vestris, ut prosit vobis quod tanti Martyris agonem spectastis; ut quomodo vincentem vidistis et vincenti favistis, sic et vos in corde vestro vincatis. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Sermo CCCXV, In Solemnitate Stephani Martyris Source: Migne PL 38.1431

On his knees he cried out saying, 'Do not hold this sin against them..' 1 See how anger may harm. Know your enemy, know what you fight in the arena of your breast, It is an arena of strife, but God looks on, there subdue your enemy. You wish to see how this may be your true enemy? There is a way of showing it. When you pray to God, there shall come a time when you say: 'Our Father, who art in heaven.' Then you will come to that line: 'Forgive us our trespasses.' What follows? 'As we forgive those who trespass against us.' There that enemy stands against you. He encircles the path of your prayer. He raises up a wall and there is no way for you to go on. Well you have said, 'Our Father.' It follows, 'Forgive us our trespasses.' And after? 'As we forgive those who trespass against us.' Behold, your enemy disputes with you, not publicly but within, in that secret place of your heart, there he cries out against you, there he disputes with you. What is this enemy that disputes so, brothers? 'As we forgive.' It is not permitted for you to act savagely against an enemy, but against savagery you should be fierce. 'Better is he who conquers anger, than he who takes a city,' Scripture says. 2 What I have just said has been written: 'Better is he who conquers anger, than he who take a city.' Is it not that when an Emperor at war comes against some enemies, and he finds a city defended, and guarded with armed men, and well supplied, and set against him, if he shall take it, if he shall conquer it, if he shall overthrow it, he seeks out how to gain the victory? So Scripture speaks to us: 'Better is he who conquers anger, than he who takes a city.' It is in your hand. You are not able to destroy it, but you can overcome it. If you are strong, overcome anger, and spare a city. I see you are attentive. I know how well you understand. God stands near you in your trials, so that what you have seen of the trial of such a great martyr may be of benefit to you, that as you have seen him conquer, even you choose to conquer, and so in your hearts be victorious. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 315, On The Feast Of Saint Stephen 1 Acts 7.60 2 Prov 16.32

Martyrs And Innocents

Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, Deus Dominus, et illuxit nobis. Benedictum nomen gloriae ejus, quod est sanctum. Neque enim otiose venit quod ex Maria natum est Sanctum: sed copiose diffundit et nomen et gratiam sanctitatis. Nimirum inde Stephanus sanctus, inde Joannes sanctus, inde sancti etiam Innocentes. Utili proinde dispositione triplex ista solemnitas Natale Domimi comitatur: ut non modo inter continuas solemnitates devotio continua perseveret, sed et fructus Dominicae Nativitatis exinde nobis velut ex quadam prosecutione evidentius innotescat. Siquidem advertere est in his tribus solemnitatibus triplicem quamdam speciem sanctitatis; nec facile praeter haec tria sanctorum genera, quartum aliud posse arbitror in hominibus reperiri. Habemus in beato Stephano martyrii simul et opus et voluntatem: habemus solam voluntatem in beato Joanne; solum in beatis Innocentibus opus. Biberunt omnes hi calicem salutaris, aut corpore simul et spiritu, aut solo spiritu, aut corpore solo. Calicem quidem meum bibetis, ait Dominus Jacobo et Joanni: nec dubium quin de passionis calice loqueretur. Demum cum Petro diceret: Sequere me, evidenter eum ad imitationem suae provocans passionis; conversus ille vidit discipulum, quem diligebat Jesus, sequentem, non tam gressu corporis, quam promptae devotionis affectu. Et bibit ergo Joannes calicem salutaris, et secutus est Dominum sicut Petrus, etsi non omni modo sicut Petrus. Quod enim sic mansit, ut non etiam passione corporea Dominum sequeretur, divini fuit consilii, sicut ipse ait: Sic eum volo manere donec veniam; ac si dicat: Vult quidem et ipse sequi, sed ego sic eum volo manere. An vero de Innocentium coronis quis dubitet? Ille pro Christo trucidatos infantes dubitet inter martyres coronari, qui regeneratos in Christo non credit inter adoptionis filios numerari. Alioquin quando coaevos sibi pueros puer ille qui natus est nobis, non contra nos, propter se pateretur occidi, quod utique solo nutu poterat prohibere, nisi melius aliquid eis provideret? ut, quemadmodum caeteris infantibus tunc quidem circumcisio, nunc vero baptismus sine ullo propriae voluntatis usu sufficit ad salutem, sic nihilominus pro eo susceptum martyrium illis sufficeret ad sanctitatem. Si quaeris eorum apud Deum merita, ut coronarentur, quaere et apud Herodem crimina, ut trucidarentur. An forte minor Christi pietas, quam Herodis impietas, ut ille quidem potuerit innoxios neci dare, Christus non potuerit propter se occisos coronare? Sit ergo Stephanus martyr apud homines, cujus voluntaria passio evidenter apparuit in eo vel maxime, quod in ipso mortis articulo tam pro persequentibus, quam pro se ipso sollicitudinem gereret ampliorem, vinceretque in eo sensum corporeae passionis internae compassionis affectus; ut illorum magis scelera, quam sua vulnera plangeret. Sit Joannes apud angelos martyr, quibus, tanquam spiritualibus creaturis, spiritualia devotionis ejus signa certius innotuerunt. Caeterum hi sunt plane martyres tui, Deus, ut in quibus nec homo nec angelus meritum invenit, singularis tuae praerogativa gratiae evidentius commendetur. Ex ore infantium et lactentium perfecisti laudem. Gloria in excelsis Deo, angeli dicunt, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Magna quidem, sed, audeo dicere, necdum perfecta laus, donec veniat qui dicat: Sinite parvulos ad me venire, quia talium est regnum coelorum; et pax hominibus, etiam sine voluntatis usu in sacramento pietatis. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Nativitate Sanctorum Innocentium, De quatuor continuis solemnitatibus, scilicet Nativitatis Domini, ac SS. Stephani, Joannis, et Innocentium. Source: Migne PL 183.129c-131c

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord and He enlightened us. 1 Blessed the name of His glory which is holy. 2 For He who was born holy from Mary did not come uselessly, but He abundantly spreads forth the name and grace of holiness. Certainly because of this Stephen was holy, and likewise John and the Holy Innocents. Usefully, then, these three solemnities are arranged in association with the birth of the Lord, so that there is no interruption of the devotion of the successive feasts, but rather the fruit of the Lord's Nativity becomes known more openly to us by this accompaniment. Certainly with these three solemnities we are directed to a sort of threefold type of holiness, and besides these three types of holy people, I cannot think how it is found among men. In the blessed Stephen we have the work and the will of martyrdom. In the blessed John we have the will alone. In the Holy Innocents the work alone. All these drink of the cup of salvation, either in both the body and the spirit, or in the spirit alone, or in the body alone. 'You shall certainly drink of my cup,' says the Lord to James and John, and doubtless he spoke of the cup for the passion. 3 Then He said to Peter, 'Follow me,' evidently calling him to the imitation of His own passion. And he turned and saw the Apostle who Christ loved following them, not so much with the steps of the body, but with the love of eager devotion. And therefore John drinks of the cup of salvation and is following the Lord like Peter, even if not in every way like Peter, because he remained and did not follow the Lord in corporeal passion, but in Divine counsel, just as He said: 'If I wish him to remain until I come.' 4 As if He said, 'Surely he wishes to follow, but I wish him to remain.' And who doubts the Innocents have their crown? He who doubts that the infants slaughtered for Christ are crowned among the martyrs, does not believe those regenerated in Christ are numbered among His adopted sons. Besides, would that boy born for us, not against us, allow them to be slain who were of the same age as He, which with a nod He was able to prohibit, unless He foresaw something better for them? So it was with those other infants then circumcised, as now baptised, that without anything of their own will, it is enough for salvation, and likewise with a few who have suffered martyrdom for Him it has been enough for holiness. If you wonder at the merit of these children with God, so that they were crowned, seek with Herod the crimes for which they were slain. Or perhaps the piety of Christ is inferior to the impiety of Herod, so that he was able to slay the innocent but Christ was not able to crown those slain because of Him? Let it be, therefore, that Stephen was a martyr with men, he whose will and passion openly appeared in him, and especially at the point of death, when he showed such great care for his persecutors and not for himself, and he conquered in himself the feeling of bodily suffering with the love of eternal compassion. 5 So he lamented more for their crimes than for his own wounds. Then let John be a martyr with the angels, by which, as with spiritual creatures, with his spiritual devotion he made known His signs more certainly. And the others are certainly your martyrs, Lord, those in whom man nor angel finds merit, each one by your singular prerogative of grace being more evidently commended. From the mouths of infants and babes you perfect your praise. 6 'Glory to God the Highest,' the angels say, 'and peace on earth to men of good will.' 7 Certainly it is great, but if I might dare say it, your praise is not yet perfected, until He comes who says: 'Allow the children to come to me, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' 8 And it is peace for men even without the use of the will in the mystery of piety. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for the Year, On the Holy Innocents, On The Four Successive Solemnities, the Nativity of the Lord, and Saint Stephen, and Saint John and the Holy Innocents. 1 Ps 117.26-27 2 Dan 3.52 3 Mt 20.23 4 Jn 21.25 21.22 5 Acts 7.58-59 6 Ps 8.3 7 Lk 2.14 8 Mt 19.14

Stephen's Loss

Συνεκόμισαν δὲ τὸν Στέφανον ἄνδρες εὐλαβεῖς καὶ ἐποίησαν κοπετὸν μέγαν ἐπ' αὐτῷ... Ὥωπερ οὗν πᾶν κέρδος ἀποδέχεσθαι δεῖ ἢ μόνον τὸ πρὸς τὴν κυρίως ὠφελεαιν συντελοῦν· οὕτως οὐκ ἐπὶ πάσῃ ζημίᾳ ἢ συμορᾷ δυσχεραίνειν χρὴ, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ μόνων τῶν βλαπτόντων ψυχήν. Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν καὶ ὁ Στέφανος, συνὼν ἀνθρώποις, πρὸς θεοσέβειαν τοῖς ποθεοῦσιν αὐτῆς πολὺ συνεβάλετο, ἀκόλουθον ἦν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀναιρέσει αὐτοῦ ἀνιαρῶς φέρειν, στερηθέντες ἀνδρὸς τοιούτου τῶν ὑστερησάντῶν αὐτοῦ. Ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστι καὶ ἐπὶ θανάτῳ τῶν τυχόντῶν, κἂν ἄλλως φίλτατοι ὦσιν, ὀλοφύρεσθαι λυπουμένους πέρα τοῦ μέτρου. Τύπον γὰρ καὶ περὶ τούτων δίδωσιν ὁ Σωτὴρ, ὃς μέχρι τοῦ δακρῦσαι ἐπὶ τῷ ἀγαπωμένῳ Λαζάρῳ τεθνηκότι ἔφθασεν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Ἐις Τάς Πράξεις Τῶν Ἀποστόλων, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 39.1668c

Stephen was buried by devout men, who mourned greatly over him... 1 As then with every gain it is necessary to receive only that which is truly beneficial, thus no loss or misfortune should upset us, but only as it concerns those things which harm the soul. So it was with Stephen, when men coming together were much afflicted because of the loss of his piety, and it followed that they lamented his killing, bereaved of such a man and in want of him. And when the death of acquaintances may weigh heavily on one, then certainly it will with close friends, and there mourning is allowed, if the grief is not beyond measure. The Saviour gives an example of this, He who over the dead Lazarus, whom He loved, was inclined to tears. 2 Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Acts of the Apostles, Fragment 1 Acts 8.2 2 Jn 11.33

Stephen And Forgiveness

Positis genibus clamavit dicens: ne statuas illis hoc peccatum. Si enim, inquit, dimiseritis hominbus peccata eroum, dimittet et vobis Pater vester coelestis peccata vestra. Si autem non dimiseritis, nec Pater vester dimittet debita vestra. Videtis, fratres, quia cum Dei gratia in potestate nostra positum est, qualiter a Domino judicemur. Si, inquit, dimiseritis, dimittetur vobis. Jam saepe dixi, fratres, et frequenter dicere debeo, nemo se circumveniat, nemo se seducat; qui vel unum hominem in hoc mundo odio habet, quidquid Deo in operibus bonis obtulerit, totum perdit, quia non menitur Paulus apostolus dicens: Si dedero omnes facultates meas in cibos pauperum, et si tradidero corpus meum, ut ardeam, caritatem autem non habuero, nihil mihi prodest. Quam rem etiam beatus Joannes confirmat, dicens: Omnis qui non diligit fratrem suum, manet in morte. Et iterum: Qui fratrem suum odit homicida est. Hoc loco fratrem omnem hominem oportet intelligi; omnes in Christo fratres sumus. Nemo sine caritate de virginitate praesumat, nemo de eleemosunis, nemo de orationibus confidat; qui quandiu inimicitiam in corde tenuerit, neque istis, neque aliis quibuslibet bonis operibus placare sibi Dominum poterit. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LXIV, In Natali Sancti Stephani Levitae et Protomartyris Source: Migne PL 57.381c-82a

On his knees he cried out, saying: 'Do not hold this sin against them.' 1 'For if,' He said, 'you forgive men their sins, your Father in heaven shall forgive you your sins. If you do not forgive them, nor will your Father forgive your trespasses.' 2 You see, brothers, that when the grace of God has been placed in our power, how we shall be judged by the Lord. 'If,' He says, 'you forgive, you shall be forgiven.' I have often said, brothers, and I shall frequently say it, that no one should delude himself, no one seduce himself, who has hatred for even one man in this world, for then whatever he offers to God in the way of good works, all of it perishes, because Paul the Apostle did not lie when he said, 'If I should give all my possessions for food for the poor, and if I should give my body over to be burnt, if I have not love, it shall not profit me at all.' 3 Which matter the blessed John confirms, saying: 'Every man who does not love his brother, remains in death.' And again, 'He who hates his brother is a murderer.' 4 In which passage every man should be understood to be a brother. And thus let no one trust in chastity without love, let no one have confidence in alms or prayers. While a man holds hostility in his heart, neither these nor any other good work can please the Lord. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 64, On The Feast Day of St Stephen 1 Acts 7.60 2 Mt 6.14-15 3 1 Cor 13.3 4 1 Jn 3. 14-15

An End Of Speech

Ὑπάρχων δὲ πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου ἀτενίσας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἶδεν δόξαν θεοῦ καὶ Ἰησοῦν ἑστῶτα ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ εἶπεν, ἰδοὺ θεωρῶ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς διηνοιγμένους καὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ δεξιῶν ἑστῶτα τοῦ θεοῦ. κράξαντες δὲ φωνῇ μεγάλῃ συνέσχον τὰ ὦτα αὐτῶν, καὶ ὥρμησαν ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐπ' αὐτόν, καὶ ἐκβαλόντες ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἐλιθοβόλουν. Καὶ μὴν εἰ ἑψεύδετο, ὡς μαινόμενον ἔδει ἀφεῖναι. Ὁ δὲ οὕτως εἴπε, βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς ἐπαγαγέσθαι. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ εἰπὼν περι τοῦ θανάτου μόνον, περὶ ἀναστάσεως οὐδὲν διελέχθη, καὶ τοῦτο λοιπὸν εὐκαίρως προστίθησι τὸ δόγμα. Οὕτω δὲ αὐτῷ λέγει φανῆναι, ὥς που διέξεισιν, ἵνα κἂν οὕτω δέξωνται τὸν λόγον, ὃς, ἐπεὶ τὸ εἰπεῖν καθῆσθαι φορτικὸν αὐτοῖς ἧν, τέως τὸν περὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως κινεῖ λόγον, καί φησιν αὐτὸν ἴστασθαι. Ἀπὸ τούτου στοχάζομαι καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ δεδοξάσθαι. Ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς φιλάνθρωπος ὤν, δῐ ὤν ἐπεβουλεύοντο ἐκεῖνοι, δι' αὐτῶν ἐβούλετο αὐτοὺς ἐκκαλέσασθαι, εἰ καὶ μηδὲν πλέον ἐγένετο, Καὶ ἐκβαλόντες ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἐλιθοβόλουν. Πάλιν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ὁ ὁ θάνατος, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ θανάτῳ ἡ ὁμολογία καὶ τὸ κήρυγμα διαγγελόμενον. Καὶ οἱ μάρτυρες ἀπέθεντο τὰ ἰμάτια αὐτῶν παρὰ πόδας νεανίου καλομένου Σαύλου, καὶ ἐλιθοβόλουν τὸν Στέφανον ἐπικαλοὺμενον τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ λέγοντα· Κύριε Ἰησου Χριστὲ, δέξαι τὸ πνεῦμα μου. Δεικνύοντος ὁμοῦ τοῦτο καὶ διδασκοντος αὐτούς ἐστιν, ὅτι οὐκ ἀπόλλυται. Καὶ θεὶς τὰ γόνατα, ἔκραζε φωνῇ μεγάλῇ· Κύριε, μὴ στήσῃς αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην. Ὥσπερ ἀπολογούμενος, ὅτι οὐδὲ τὰ πρότερα θυμοῦ ἧν, φησί· Κύριε, ἤ καὶ βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς ταύτῃ ἐπισπάσασθαι. Τὸ γὰρ ἀφεῖναι μὲν τὸν θυμὸν καὶ τὴν ὀργὴν τῷ φόνῳ, καθαρὰν δεῖξαι δὲ τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ πάθους, εὐπαράδεκτον ἐποίει τὸν λόγον. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος Ὑπομηνμα εἰς τας Πραξεις των Ἀποστολων, Ὁμολια ΙΗ' Source: Migne PG 60.141

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.' Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed on him as one, and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. 1 And yet, if he lied, as one who is mad, they should have let him go. But he spoke as one who wished to bring them to him. And since he had spoken of the death and had said nothing of the resurrection, he would appropiately add this teaching. And thus he says He appeared to him like this, that as He was shown, they might receive the word; for since His sitting was offensive to them, for the present he brings forward only what concerns the resurrection. Because of this his face was glorified. For God, loving men, amid their plotting wished to call them to Himself, and if nothing else were done: 'They cast him out of the city and stoned him.' Again, 'outside the city,' there was death, as with Christ and on account of Him, and in death the giving of confession and preaching. 2 'And the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, who called upon God, saying, Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit.' This is meant to show and teach them that he is not perishing. 'And kneeling, he cried with a loud voice, Lord, charge them not with this sin.' To clear himself, that he show that his former words were not from passion, he says, 'Lord,' and then the rest, wishing to win them over by it. For to show that he forgave them their wrath and rage in murder, and that his own soul was free from passion, was to make his speech more acceptable. Saint John Chrysostom, On The Acts Of The Apostles, from Homily 18 1 Acts 7.55-58 2 Heb 13.11-15

Stephen's Martyrdom

Ecce, inquit beatus Stephanus, video coelos apertos, et Filium hominis stantem a dextris virtutis Dei. Considerate attentius, fratres dilectissimi, cum beatus martyr Dominum mostrum Jesum Christum ad dexteram Dei Patris sedere vidissset, cur se Filium hominis videre testatus est, et non potius Filium Dei, cum utique plus honoris Domino delaturus videretur, si se Dei potius quam hominis Filium videre dixisset? Sed certa ratio postulabat ut hoc ita ostenderetur in coelo, et praedicaretur in mundo; omne enim Judaeorum scandalum in hoc erat, cur Dominus noster Jesus Christus, qui secundum carnem est Filius hominis esse etiam Dei Filius diceretur. Ideo ergo pulchre Scriptura divina Filium hominis ad dexteram Dei Patris stare memoravit, ut ad confundendam Judaeorum incredulitatem, illi martyri ostenderetur in coelo, qui a perfidis negabatur in mundo; et illi testimonium coelestis veritas daret, cui fidem terrena  impietas derogarat. Unde licet juxta psalmum, qui lectus est: Pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum sit, si quid tamen distare inter martyres potest, praecipuus videtur esse qui primus est. Nam cum Sanctus Stephanus ab apostolos ipsos beata ac triumphali morte praecessit: ac sic, qui erat inferior ordine, prior factus est passione; et qui erat discipulus gradu, magister coepit esse martytrio; complens illud quod veatus propheta in psalmo dixit: Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi? Retribuere enim primus voluit Stephanus martyr Domino, quod cum omni humano genere accepit Domino; mortem enim, quam Salvator dignatus est pro omnibus pati, hanc ille primus reddidit Salvatori. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LXIV, In Natali Sancti Stephani Levitae et Protomartyris Source: Migne PL 57.379

'Behold,' said the blessed Stephen,'I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.' 1 Consider attentively, dear brothers, when the blessed martyr saw our Lord Jesus Christ sat at the right hand of God the Father, why he gave witness to seeing the son of Man and not rather the Son of God, when more honour he would seem to speak to the Lord if he had said the Son of of God rather than the Son of Man? But with good reason it was desired that this be so shown in heaven and preached in the world, for every scandal of the Jews was in this: why our Lord Jesus Christ who was according to the flesh the Son of Man, was to be spoken of as the Son of God. Therefore rightly Holy Scripture declares the Son of Man to be standing at the right side of God that the disbelief of the Jews be confounded, showing Him in heaven to that martyr, who by traitors was denied in the world, and to him had given witness to heavenly truth, the faith of whom was denounced on earth by impiety. Whence fittingly according to the Psalm, we read, 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His holy ones.' 2 If, however, there is difference among the martyrs, it certainly seems he is the first. For when the blessed Stephan was ordained a deacon by the Apostles, he preceded those same Apostles in a blessed and triumphant death, and so he who was inferior in rank, first made his passion, and he who was a pupil by status became a teacher by martyrdom, fulfilling what the blessed Prophet said in Psalm: What shall I return to the Lord for all the things that he has given me? 3 For the first martyr Stephen wished to give return to the Lord, that when everything human he had received from the Lord, even death, which the Saviour deemed worthy to suffer for all, he first returned to the Saviour. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 64, On The Feast Day of St Stephen 1.Acts 7.56 2 Ps 115.15 3 Ps 115.12

Seeking The Risen

Descendisti quidem Filius hominis, nec Patri, cum descenderes, abfuisti: sed descendisti nobis; ut te oculis ac mentibus videremus, ut in te crederemus. Ergo et ascendisti nobis; ut et te sequeremur mentibus, quem oculis videre non possumus. Ascendisti apostolis, quibus dixisti: Qui me videt et Patrem. Denique Joannes ubi te quaereret, scivit. Apud Patrem quaesivit, et reperit, et ideo ait: Et Verbum erat apud Deum. Ascendisti et Paulo, qui non contentus solus te sequi, nos quoque docuit quemadmodum te sequamur, et ubi te reperire possimus, dicens: Si ergo consurrexistis cum Christo, quae sursum sunt, quaerite ubi Christus est ad dexteram Dei sedens. Et ne oculorum magis hoc quam animorum putaremus officium, addidit: Quae sursum sunt sapite, non quae super terram. Ergo non supra terram, nec in terram, nec secundum carnem te quaerere debemus, si volumus invenire; nunc enim secundum carnem jam non novimus Christum. Denique Stephanus non supra terra, quaesivit, qui stantem te ad dexteram Dei vidit: Maria autem quia quaerabat in terra, tangere non potuit. Stephanus tetigit, quia quaesivit in coelo; Stephanus inter Judaeos vidit absentem: Maria inter angelos non vidit praesentem. Sed quare non potuerit illa tangere, evangelista ipse nos docuit dicens, quia cum te videret, nesciebat quia tu es; sic enim habes: Conversa est retrorsum, et vidit Jesum stantem, et non sciebat quia Jesus est. Merito tangere non potuit, quae videre non potuerat; nam qui videt tangit. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam, Liber X, Cap XXIV Source: Migne PL 15.1843d-1844b

You descended the Son of Man, not being separated from the Father when you descended, but you descended for us, that we see you with our eyes and minds, that we might believe in you. Thus you ascended for us, that we follow you with our minds, whom with eyes we are not able to see. You ascended for the Apostles to whom you said, 'He who sees me, sees the Father.' 1 John knew where he should seek you. With the Father he sought you, and he found you and so he said: 'And the Word was with God.' 2 You ascended for Paul, who was not content to follow you alone, but also taught us how we should follow and where we would be able to find you, saying, 'If therefore you have risen with Christ, seek things above, where Christ is at the right hand of the Father.' 3 And lest we think this is to be done more with eyes than with the soul, he adds: 'Know the things that are above, not the things that are below.' 4 Therefore not upon the earth, nor in the earth, nor according to the flesh should we seek you, if we wish to find you. For now we do not know Christ according to the flesh. Stephen did not seek upon the earth and he saw Him who stands at the right hand of the Father; 5 Mary Magdalen, however, because she sought on the earth, was not able to touch Him. 6 Stephen touched him, because he sought Him in heaven; Stephen among the Jews saw Him absent; Mary among the angels did not see Him present. And why was she not able to touch Him, the Evangelist has taught us, saying that when she saw you she did not know that it was you, for he writes: 'She turned behind her and saw Jesus standing, and she did not know that is was Jesus.' 7 With reason she was not able to touch what she was not able to see, for he who sees, he touches. Saint Ambrose, from the Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 10, Chap 24 1 Jn 14.9 2 Jn 1.1 3 Col 3.1 4 Col 3.2 5 Acts 7.55 6 Jn 29.17 7 Jn 29.1

Names And Stephen

Sicut dominum praediorum limitibus affixi tituli proloquuntur, ita nomina ipse saepe sanctorum merita indicant, testantur insignia. Ita Abraham, quod fide credidit, nominis adjectione monstravit, quando ex Abram Abraham divinitus nuncupatur: ut dilatandus genere, nomine ante dilataretur, dicente Domino: Et non vocabitur amplius nomen tuum Abram, sed Abraham erit nomen tuum, quia patrem multarum gentium posui te. Sic conjux sancta ejus cum de sterili fit fecunda, ex Sarai vocitate est Sarah, ut et ipsa ante crescat nomine quam crescat pignore; et quia permittente Domino risum edidit si verula conciperet exarata jam rugis, si praeret desperata jam fecunditas, si sterilitas jam penes senectutis extrema praegnans fieret, risum mox quod genuit, nuncupavit; et hoc aptavit in nomine, quod sensu passa est cum rideret: Et vocavit nomen ejus Isaac, quod interpretatur risus. Sic Jacob, qui in utero coepit ante luctari quam vivere, ante viribus superare quam membris, etiam inter viscera materna ipsa supplantatori est vocabulum consecutus, eo quod antequam nasceretur noscitur divinitus reprobatum supplantasse germanum. Et quia longum est ire per singula, sicut Petrus a petra nomen adeptus est, quia primus meruit Ecclesiam fidei firmitate fundare; ita Stephanus vocatus est a corona, quia primus meruit pro Christi nomine subire conflictum, primus meruit sanguine militium Christi martyrium dedicare. Petrus apostolici chori vetustum teneat principatum, aperiat intrantibus regnum coelorum, reos potestate vinciat, poenitentes clementer absolvat; Stephanus est martyrum primus, Stephanus purpuratum ducat exercitum, qui pro Domini sui adhuc calente sanguine sanguinem suum avidus bellator effundit. Et quia cruore proprio tinctam sibi ipse purpuram conquisivit, meruit a rege suo consecutus est post corona: vere quem praescivit et praedestinavit, ipsum nunc martyrii primum vocavit ad gloriam. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CLIV, In Divum Stephanum protomartyrem Source: Migne PL 52.608a-609a

As titles proclaim the limits appointed to the lordship of estates, so names often indicate the merits of the holy, bearing witness to their achievement. This was shown with Abraham, who believed and thus received an addition to his name, when he was renamed Abraham from Abram, and with expansion of the family, the name was likewise expanded, with the Lord saying, 'And no longer shall you be called Abram, but Abraham shall be your name because I have appointed you to be the father of many nations.' 1 So his holy wife, when she was made fertile from sterility, was renamed Sarah from Sarai, her name growing before grew the pledge, and because the Lord permitted her to laugh saying that a shoot would be conceived in her already furrowed with lines, that in the presence of despair there was now fecundity, that in the fruitless end of old age she would became pregnant, that she laughing would soon give birth, He made it fitting by the name, which sense was passed on when she laughed, and she called the name of the child Isaac, which translated means laughter. So Jacob, who in the womb before his birth began to struggle, who before having strength of limbs would overcome even within his mother, by which the name of supplantor followed, whence before he was born it is known by Divine influence he had supplanted a rejected twin. And because it would take far too long to go through each name, as Peter was given his name from a rock, because first he merited with firmness of faith to establish the Church, so let it be said that Stephen is named from a crown, because he first merited to undergo struggle for the name of Christ, he first merited to be a martyr soldier of Christ with blood. Peter holds the elder and principle seat of the Apostolic choir, he opened the kingdom of heaven to those who would enter, he conquered the guilty with power, absolved the penitent with mercy. Stephen is the first martyr, Stephen in purple leads the army, a zealous soldier who for the blood of His Lord pours out his own hot blood. And because he has sought the purple hue for himself with his own blood thus he earns from his king the crown that follows after, truly him whom He knew and predestined, who now, the first of martyrs, He calls to glory. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 154, On Saint Stephen The Protomartyr 1 Gen 17.5

Friends And Enemies

Positis genibus clamavit dicens: ne statuas illis hoc peccatum. Videte, dilectissimi fratres, affectum beati viri; videte magnam et admirabilem caritatem. In persecutione positus erat, et pro persecutoribus supplicabat, atque in illa lapidum ruina, quando alius oblivisci poterat etiam carissimos suos, ille Domino commendabat inimicos. Quod enim dicebat, cum lapidaretur? Domine, ne statuas illis hoc peccatum. Plus itaque tunc illorum dolebat peccata quam sua vulnera, plus illorum impietatem quam suam mortem; et recte plus. In illorum quippe iniquitate erant multa quae plangi, in illius autem morte non erat quod debuisset doleri; illorum impietatem mors sequebatur aeterna, hujus autem mortem vita perpetua. Imitemur ergo in aliquo, dilectissimi fratres, tanti magistri fidem, tam praeclari martyris caritatem; diligamus nos hoc animo in Ecclesia fratres nostros, quo ille tunc dilexit inimicos suos. Sed quod pejus est aliquoties non solum inimicos non diligmus, nec amicis quidem fidem integram custodimus. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LXIV Source: Migne PL 57.381a-b

'And on his knees he called out saying, Do not hold this sin against them.' 1 See, dearest brothers, the state of the blessed man, see his great and admirable love. In persecution he was placed, and for his persecutors he prayed, and in that rain of stones, when other would have forgotten even their dearest ones, he commended his enemies to the Lord. For what did he say when he was stoned? 'O Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' Thus he groaned more for their sins than for his own wounds, more for their impiety than his own death, and rightly more. For in their iniquity there was much to lament and in his death there was nothing to grieve, since eternal death followed upon their impiety and eternal life his death. Let us imitate in some way, dearest brothers, the faith of such a teacher, the love of this glorious martyr; let us love in our souls our brothers in the Church as he loved his enemies. For what is much worse  is not only that we do not love our enemies,  but that neither do we keep faith with friends. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 64 1 Acts 7.59

Standing Fast

State et nolite iterum jugo servitutis contineri. Et ex hoc ostenditur, quia non stet qui jugo inhaereat servitutis. Et quia is qui a Christo liberatate donatus est, tamdiu fuerit sub jugo, quamdiu spiritum servitutis habuerit in timore, et Legis initia sit secutus. Quod autem ait, state, firmam et stabilem in Christo hortatur fidem, ut Ecclesiae Galatiae fixo in Salvatore permaneant pede. De quo et in alio loco justus loquitur: Statuit super petram pedes meos, pro eo quod est, super Christum: ne scilicet circumferantur omni vento doctrinae, et in diversa rapiantur. Unde et ad stantes dicitur: Et qui stat, videat ne cadat. Et in alio loco: State, viriliter agite, confortamini, ut stent cum eo, quem Stephanus a dextris Patris stantem vidit in martytio perseverans. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Epistolam ad Galatas, Liber III, Cap V

Stand fast and refuse to be placed again under the yoke of servitude 1 And from this it is shown that he does not stand fast who adheres to the yoke of servitude. And even this man who was gifted liberty by Christ, for as long as he was beneath the yoke, so long he had the spirit of slavery in fear, and the beginning of the law he followed. And so he says, stand fast, exhorting firm and stable faith in Christ, that the church of the Galatians remain with fixed foot with the Saviour. Concerning which in another place it is said: He stood my feet upon the rock. 2 that is, upon Christ, lest they be blown away by every wind of doctrine and seized in diverse ways. 3 Whence to those who stand fast he says, 'And he who stands, let him look, so that he does not fall.' 4 And in another place, 'Stand, act manfully, be strong,' 5 that they stand with Him who Stephen saw standing at the right hand of the Father while he persevered in martyrdom. 6 Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, Book 3, Chap 5 1 Gal 5.1 2 Ps 39.3 3 Eph 4. 14 4 1 Cor 10.12 5 1 Cor 16.13 6 Acts 2

Stephen and The Holy Spirit

Πῶς εἶδε τὴν ὑπερουράνιον δόξαν ὁ Στέφανος; τίς αὐτῷ τὰς πύλας τῶν οὐρανῶν διεπέτασεν; Ἄρ' ἀνθρωπίνης δυνάμεως ἥν τὸ κατόρθωμα; ἆρά τινος τῶν ἀγγέλων πρὸς τὸ ὕψος ἐκεῖνο τὴν κάτω κειμένην φύσιν ἀναβιβάσαντος; Οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα· οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἡ κατ' αὐτὸν ἱστορία φησὶν, ὅτι Στέφανος δὲ πολὺς κατὰ τὴν δύναμῖν ὤν, ἢ τῆς ἀγγελικῆς βοηθείας πλήρης γενόμενος, εἶδεν ἂ εἶδεν. Ἀλλὰ τί λέγει; 'Στέφανος δὲ. πλήρης ὤν Πνεύματος ἁγίου, εἰδε τὴν δόξαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὸν μονογενῆ τοῦ Θεοῦ Υιόν. Οὐ γὰρ ἔστι, καθώς φησιν ὁ Προφήτης. τὸ φως ὀφθῆναι, μὴ ἐν φωτὶ καθορώμενον.' Ἐν  γὰρ τῷ φωτί σου,' φησιν, 'ὀψόμεθα φῶς.' Εἰ οὖν οὖκ ἐνδέχεται μὴ ἐν τῷ φωτὶ γενέσθαι τὴν τοῦ φωτὸς θεωρίαν· πῶς γὰρ ἔστιν ἀπιδεῖν εἰς τὸν ἥλιον ἔξω τῶν ἀκτίνων γενόμενον; ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐν τῷ φωτὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς, τουτέστιν ἐν τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ τῷ ἐκεῖθεν ἐκπορευομένῳ, τὸ Μονογενὲς καθορᾶται φῶς· διὰ τοῦτο προκαταυγασθεὶς τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἐν περινοίᾳ τῆς τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Ὑιοῦ δόξης γίνεται. Ἐπεὶ, πῶς τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν ἀπόφασιν ἀληθεύειν φήσομεν, ὁτι 'Θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε; Πῶς δὲ τὸν Ἀπόστολον μὴ ἐναντία τοῖς ἱστορηθεῖσι Βοᾷν, ὅταν λεγει· Οὔτε τις εἶδεν αὐτὸν ἀνθρώπων, οὐτε ἰδεῖν δύναται; Εἰ γὰρ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει τε καὶ δυνάμει, ἡ τοῦ Πατρός τε καὶ του Ὑιοῦ δόξα χωρητὴ κατέστη· ψευδὴς πάντως, ὁ ἀχώρητον ἀνθρώποις ἀποφηνάμενος εἶναι τὸ θεῖον θέαμα. Ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐτε ἐκεῖνον ψεύδεσθαι, καὶ τὴν ἱστορίαν ἀληθεύειν ἐπάναγκες. Ἂρα φανερῶς ἡ κακουργία τῶν Πνευματομάχων πεφώραται, ὅτι τῷ ὁμοίῳ καθορᾶσθαι τὰ ὅμοια παρὰ τῆς Γραγῆς μεμαρτύρηται. Ὁ γὰρ Στέφανος οὐκ ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει τε καὶ δυνάμει μένων τὸ Θεῖον βλέπει· ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀγίου Πνεύματος χάριν ἀνακραθεὶς, δι' ἐκείνου ὑψώθη πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ κατανόησιν. Οὐκοῦν εἰ χωρὶς τοῦ Πνεύματος  οὕτε Κύριον Ἰησοῦν ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, οὔτε τὴν Πατρικὴν δόξαν κατανοῆσαι· δέδεικται σαφῶς, ὅτι ὅπου τὸ Πνεῦμά ἐστιν, ἐκεῖ καὶ ὁ Ὑιὸς καθορᾶται, καὶ ἡ Πατρικὴ δόξα καταλαμβάνεται. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τον Ἁγιον Στεφανον Τον Προτομαρτυρα

How did Stephen see transcendent glory? Who revealed the gates of heaven to him? Was this wonder by the power of men? Which of the angels elevated a lower nature soar to that height? I do not speak of these things from his own telling, for Stephen was among many when he was filled with power coming from the angels by which he saw the things he saw. What is said? 'Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit and saw the glory of God and his Only-Begotten Son'1. For it is not, as the Prophet says, that light is seen unless one is brought into the light: 'In your light we shall see light,' 2 If observation of the light does not partake of the light, how can anyone deprived of the sun's rays see it?. Since the Father's light makes this possible, the Only Begotten's light emanates through the Holy Spirit which makes it visible. Therefore the Spirit's glory enables us to perceive the glory of both the Father and Son. But can we say that the Gospel is true which says that 'No man has ever seen God'? 3 How do the Apostle's words agree with the following, 'No man has seen nor can see '?4 If human nature and power is able to grasp the glory of the Father and Son, it must be an error that the sight of God is unachievable by man. But this is no lie and the record is true. The evil deed of the pneumatomachoi is indeed exposed because Scripture bears witness to similar sights. For Stephen does not see God by human nature and power but he is lifted up by the grace of the Holy Spirit that he might comprehend God. Therefore, apart from the Spirit one cannot say that Jesus is Lord, as the Apostle says. 5 And nor can one contemplate the Father's glory, for where the Spirit is the Son is seen and there the Father's glory is grasped . Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On the First Martyr Saint Stephen 1. Acts 7.55 2. Ps 35.10 3 Jn 1.18 4 1 Tm 6.16 5 cf. 1Tm 6.16, 1Cor 12.3

Times and Seasons

Quam accurate Sancta Scriptura facta describat. Intueri libet quomodo sacra eloquia in exordiis narrationum qualitates exprimant, terminosque causarum. Aliquando namque a positione loci, aliquando a positione corporis, aliquando a qualitate aeris, aliquando a qualitate temporis signant, quid de ventura actione subjiciant. A positione quippe locorum Divina Scriptura exprimit subsequentium merita finesque causarum, sicut de Israel dicit quia verba Dei in monte audire non potuit, sed praecepta in campestribus accepit: subsequentem nimirum infirmitatem populi indicans, qui ascendere ad summa non valuit, sed semetipsum in infimis neglecte vivendo laxavit. A positione corporis futura denuntiat, sicut in apostolorum Actibus Stephanus Jesum, qui a dextris virtutis Dei sedet, stantem se vidisse manifestat. Stare quippe adjuvantis est. Et recte stare cernitur, qui in bello certaminis opitulatur. A qualitate aeris res subsequens demonstratur, sicut evangelista, cum praedicante Domino, nullos tunc ex Judaea credituros diceret, praemisit dicens: Hiems autem erat. Scriptum namque est: Quoniam abundabit iniquitas, refrigescet charitas multorum. Idcirco ergo hiemis curavit tempus exprimere, ut inesse auditorum cordibus malitiae frigus indicaret. Hinc est quod de negaturo Petro praemittitur: Quia frigus erat, et stans ad prunas calefaciebat se. Jam namque intus a charitatis calore torpuerat, et ad amorem praesentis vitae, quasi ad persecutorum prunas infirmitate aestuante recalebat. A qualitate quoque temporis finis exprimitur actionis, sicut non rediturus ad veniam, ad traditionis perfidiam nocte Judas exiisse perhibetur, cum egrediente illo, ab evangelista dicitur: Erat autem nox. Hinc enim et iniquo diviti dicitur: Hac nocte repetent animam tuam abs te. Anima quippe, quae ad tenebras ducitur, non in die repeti, sed in nocte memoratur. Hinc est quod Salomon, qui sapientiam non perseveraturus accepit, in somnis hanc et nocte accepisse describitur. Hinc est quod angeli ad Abraham meridie veniunt; punituri autem Sodomam, ad eam vespere venisse memorantur. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Moralia, sive Expositio in Job, Liber II

How carefully Sacred Scripture describes incidents. One should look closely at how the sacred eloquence in the beginning of its narrations details the qualities and limits of the issues. For at one time by location, at another by the position of the body, at another by the quality of the air, at another by the the time, it foreshadows what is to come. So then by location Divine Scripture sets forth the merits and ends of the events to follow, as where it says of Israel that they were not able to hear the words of God on the mountain but received the commandments on the plain, doubtless indicating the subsequent weakness of the people who could not ascend to the heights but who enervated themselves by careless living in lowest things. By the posture of the body it announces the future, as where in the Acts of the Apostles Stephen discloses that he saw Jesus who is placed at the right hand of the Power of God, in a standing posture,1 for standing is the posture of one in the act of rendering aid, and rightly is He discerned standing who gives aid in the struggle of the battle.  By the quality of the air the subsequent event is shown, as when the Evangelist said that none out of Judea were at that time to prove believers in our Lord's teaching, he prefaced it by saying, 'And it was winter.' For it is written, 'Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall grow cold.'  Therefore he took care to remark that it was the winter season in order to indicate that the frost of wickedness was in the hearts of the hearers. Thus it is that it is said before Peter denied the Lord that it was cold and Peter stood warming himself at the coals, for now inwardly the warmth of charity lessened but the love of this present life was warming, as though his weakness were heated by the coals of the persecutors. By the time also is the end of the act is set forth, as is said of Judas, who was never to be restored by pardon, that he went out at night to the treachery of his betrayal, where on his exit, the Evangelist says: 'And it was night.' And again it is declared to the iniquitous rich man: 'This night your soul be taken from you.' The soul which is taken to darkness is not demanded in the day but in the night.  Hence it is that Solomon, who received wisdom but was not to retain it, is said to have received it in dreams and in the night.  Hence it is that the Angels come to Abraham at midday, but when the go to punish Sodom they are recorded to have arrived at evening. Saint Gregory the Great, Commentary on Job, Book II  1 Acts 7.55