Saint Stephen the Younger

Also known as

Stephen the New

28 November

Profile

Monk at the monastery of Saint Auxentius at age fifteen. Abbot of Saint Auxentius in 744. Retired in 756 to live as a hermit. Soon after, the iconoclast movement became very active in the area, led by Emperor Constantine Copronynus V. The emperor tried to enlist Stephen in the movement, but the holy hermit refused, and was exiled. Years later he returned, and to prove how important it was to respect icons and other religious art, Stephen went to the emperor, pulled out a coin that bore the emperor’s likeness, threw it onto the floor, and stomped on it; as the emperor understood the importance of his own image, he imprisoned Stephen for 11 months. On his release, Stephen returned to the court and resumed the argument as though nothing has happened. He was ordered executed with more than 300 others who opposed iconoclasm.