A Soul Like Stephen’s

“This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.” – Acts 6:5,6 The early church was governed from Jerusalem in the heart of Judea, and there was a group of believers there called the Hebraic Jews. On the other hand, there were the Hellenistic Jews who lived in the region of Galilee. Early in church history, the Hellenistic Jews registered a complaint against the Hebraic Jews, claiming that their widows were not receiving enough food in the daily distribution. Though the matter seemed trite to the church fathers, they decided to appoint a board to oversee the handing out of rations to ensure that everything was fair. Interestingly, Stephen was the