Icon of Saint Stefan - hand-painted wood carving 30x40cm

Hand painted wood carving.
Protected with two-layer polyurethane varnish.
Material: laminated wood.

Dimensions: around 30 x 40 cm

Saint Stefan (called Protomartyr) was archdeacon of the original Jerusalem Church and relative of the Apostle Paul. Stefan was the first of seven deacons who were ordained by the Apostles to assist the poor in Jerusalem. Therefore, he was called the Archdeacon. He was a Jew who lived in the Greek regions of the Roman Empire. Loyalty to Christianity, spiritual exaltation, martyrdom, and death are characteristic for both this saint and almost all martyrs, at the time of the forbidden preaching of Christianity from the first to the fourth century. The death of St. Stephen took place a year after the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, that is, the same year when Jesus Christ rose to heaven. Saint Stefan is the first Christian who died for the Lord and therefore is called the Martyr. He was only 30 years old when he died. His last words were: "Lord, do not include them this sin."