Stephen, one of the seven deacons of the Jerusalem Church, was a 'man full of grace and power' who 'did great wonders and signs among the people.' Arraigned before the Sanhedrin on charges of speaking against the Temple and the Law, he gave a long defence-sermon recounting the history of Israel and ending with a fierce indictment: 'You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit.'
As they gnashed their teeth at him, Stephen — full of the Holy Spirit — gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He said: 'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.' They cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, rushed upon him, cast him out of the city, and stoned him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Stephen, dying, prayed as Christ had: 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit... Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' He fell asleep. The site of his martyrdom is traditionally identified at the Lions' Gate (St. Stephen's Gate) of the Old City of Jerusalem. The grace given through Stephen's prayer — by Christian tradition — was the conversion of Saul to St. Paul.