Pope Stephen I (Greek:Στέφανος Α΄Latin:Stephanus I) was theBishop of Rome from 12 May 254 to his death on 2 August 257.[1] He was latercanonized as a saint and some accounts say he was killed while celebratingMass.
Stephen was born inRome. According to the most ancient lists of popes, he was the son of Jovius and came from a nobleRoman family that had long since converted to Christianity. He served asarchdeacon ofPope Lucius I, who appointed Stephen his successor.
Following theDecian persecution of 250–251, there was disagreement about how to treat those who had lapsed from the faith. Stephen was urged by BishopFaustinus of Lyon to take action against Marcian, theNovatianistbishop of Arles, whodenied penance and communion to the lapsed who repented. The controversy arose in the context of a broad pastoral problem. During the Decian persecution some Christians had purchased certificates attesting that they had made the requisite sacrifices to the Roman gods. Others had denied they were Christians while yet others had in fact taken part in pagan sacrifices. These people were called in Latinlapsi,the fallen. The question arose as to whether, if they later repented, they could be readmitted to communion with the church, and if so, under what conditions.[2]
Stephen held that converts who had been baptized by schismatics did not need re-baptism, whileCyprian and certain bishops of the Roman province of Africa held rebaptism necessary for admission to theEucharist. Stephen's view eventually won broad acceptance in theLatin Church.[1] He is also mentioned as having insisted on the restoration of the bishops ofLeón andAstorga, who had been deposed for unfaithfulness during the persecution but afterwards had repented.[1]
The Martyrdom of Pope Stephen in theGolden Legend (1497)
TheDepositio episcoporum of 354 does not speak of Pope Stephen I as a martyr and he is not celebrated as such by theCatholic Church,[3] in spite of the account in theGolden Legend that in 257Emperor Valerian resumed the persecution of Christians. Stephen was sitting on his pontifical throne celebratingMass for hiscongregation when the emperor's men came and beheaded him on 2 August 257.[4] As late as the 18th century, what was said to be the chair was preserved, still allegedly stained with blood.[5]
Stephen I'sfeast day in the Catholic Church is celebrated on 2 August.[6] In 1839, when the new feast ofSt Alphonsus Mary de Liguori was assigned to 2 August, Stephen I was mentioned only as acommemoration within theMass of Saint Alphonsus. The revision of the calendar in 1969 removed the mention of Stephen I from the General Roman Calendar, but, according to the terms of theGeneral Instruction of the Roman Missal, the 2 August Mass may now everywhere be that of one of the Saints named that day in theMartyrologium Romanum of 2004, including Stephen I, unless in some locality an obligatory celebration is assigned to that day,[7] while those permitted to use the pre-1969 calendar make commemoration of Saint Stephen I on that day.
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