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 Most of us in Christianity know Stephen as the first martyr. However, there is more to glean from his story by understanding his background and how he fits into the history of our faith. The early church was governed from Jerusalem in the heart of Judea, and there was a group of believers there who were quite orthodox in their thinking known as the Hebraic Jews. On the other hand, there were the Hellenistic Jews who were less traditional and identified with the Greek culture; these are the ones who lived in the region of Galilee. Early in church