Following tradition, on 26th December the Franciscans of Jerusalem went to the place where St. Stephen is presumed to have been martyred.
There is an Orthodox convent in the Kidron Valley that looks on to Gethsemane and the Virgin Mary’s Tomb. Father Epifanio welcomed all the pilgrims with a broad smile and great affability.
The Franciscans, who had been joined by a large number of pilgrims, celebrated the memory of the saint in a service where the passages of the Acts of the Apostles relating the account of the saint are read.
Brother Eugenio Alliata of the Studium Biblicum then explained to the crowd the place where we were standing and what we could see from there. Describing the large frescoes on the walls, he returned to eh tradition that situates the stoning of Stephen on the rock protected by these four walls.
“There are few pilgrims of antiquity who mention the rock,” said Brother Eugenio. Some locate it north of the city.”
The third fresco shows the discovery of the saint’s relics in the city of Caphargamala, 25 miles from Jerusalem.
“We have written evidence of a contemporary priest, called Luciano, who wrote a letter to the whole of Christianity to inform it of this discovery. It was revealed to him in a dream, where he saw the place where to dig to find not only the relics of St. Steven but also of Nicodemus and Gamaliel, who had helped bury the martyr. This is why we have the portrayal of the dream. John II of Jerusalem, the successor of Cyril of Jerusalem, interpreted this dream and ordered excavations to start. When the relics of the martyr had been found, John II brought them back in triumph to Jerusalem and had them laid on the Holy Zion, where he had received the laying of the hands of the Apostles on 26th December, 415.
The relics were identified thanks to various miracles including the last one, which is of most interest to us this year: the rain which fell suddenly after a lengthy period of drought!”
Waiting for the rain to fall on Jerusalem, Brother Luigi Garcia, Guardian of the Gethsemane convent, invited the whole assembly to share the no less famous hot chocolate of Brother Raffaello for the joy of one and all.
Mab
There is an Orthodox convent in the Kidron Valley that looks on to Gethsemane and the Virgin Mary’s Tomb. Father Epifanio welcomed all the pilgrims with a broad smile and great affability.
The Franciscans, who had been joined by a large number of pilgrims, celebrated the memory of the saint in a service where the passages of the Acts of the Apostles relating the account of the saint are read.
Brother Eugenio Alliata of the Studium Biblicum then explained to the crowd the place where we were standing and what we could see from there. Describing the large frescoes on the walls, he returned to eh tradition that situates the stoning of Stephen on the rock protected by these four walls.
- One fresco shows the laying of the hands by the Apostles on seven young deacons.
- The other fresco shows Steven’s profession of the faith before the doctors of the law, who make fun of the words spoken by the saint on Jesus and then take him to a rock outside the city for him to be stoned to death.
“There are few pilgrims of antiquity who mention the rock,” said Brother Eugenio. Some locate it north of the city.”
The third fresco shows the discovery of the saint’s relics in the city of Caphargamala, 25 miles from Jerusalem.
“We have written evidence of a contemporary priest, called Luciano, who wrote a letter to the whole of Christianity to inform it of this discovery. It was revealed to him in a dream, where he saw the place where to dig to find not only the relics of St. Steven but also of Nicodemus and Gamaliel, who had helped bury the martyr. This is why we have the portrayal of the dream. John II of Jerusalem, the successor of Cyril of Jerusalem, interpreted this dream and ordered excavations to start. When the relics of the martyr had been found, John II brought them back in triumph to Jerusalem and had them laid on the Holy Zion, where he had received the laying of the hands of the Apostles on 26th December, 415.
The relics were identified thanks to various miracles including the last one, which is of most interest to us this year: the rain which fell suddenly after a lengthy period of drought!”
Waiting for the rain to fall on Jerusalem, Brother Luigi Garcia, Guardian of the Gethsemane convent, invited the whole assembly to share the no less famous hot chocolate of Brother Raffaello for the joy of one and all.
Mab