St. Stephen is believed to have been the first Christian martyr, and he is said to have died after defending his faith before the Sanhedrin, Jerusalem’s supreme rabbinic court. Stephen’s apology so enraged his Jewish audience that he was taken out of the city and stoned to death. His final words, a prayer of forgiveness for his attackers (Acts of the Apostles 7:60), echoed those of Jesus on the cross (Luke 23:34).
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