16/08/2026
Father Gabriel's Homily after Holy Liturgy 15.08.2026
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Today is the day of Saint Archdeacon Stephen. His name in Greek means “the crown”—Stephanos. You know about his life from the Acts of the Apostles. Saint Luke the Apostle, the author of this book, says that Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. And at that time, when the priests and the high priests of the synagogue seized him, they asked him, “Who are you talking about? What are you saying?”
They said that he was speaking against Moses and against the ancient fathers. But Stephen preached to them from the Old Testament, explaining everything. He explained what the Old Testament really means, who Jesus Christ is in reality, and why He is the Messiah. And as he spoke, they saw that his face was like the face of an angel, shining in light.
Now, you remember what Christ said in the Gospel about family situations—about wives and husbands. The Pharisees asked Him about divorce, and Jesus said, “Moses gave you this rule in a simple way because your hearts are like stone.” This is the very reason why some of us may be Orthodox, but not good Orthodox. Some may call themselves Orthodox, but they are not truly living as Orthodox. Why? What is the reason? We have to think about these words: if your heart is made of stone, it cannot see God.
Think about the temple when Jesus was preaching. The Pharisees and the others had physical stones in their pockets. It means they were always ready to stone someone. And Jesus teaches us that every passion, every problem we have, comes straight from our heart. If your heart is like stone, you are always ready to stone someone, to stop someone, to fight against the truth.
This is what happened with Stephen. They said that Jesus is not the Messiah. Stephen said, “No, He is!” And he explained everything to them. Then he looked up and said that he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. What does this mean? God doesn't literally sit or stand up like we do, but for Stephen’s martyrdom, Christ stood up! It means that God is waiting for you. God is looking at your actions. God is looking directly at your heart.
And He is waiting for you in the same way He revealed Himself on the Cross. Our God is not standing there waiting to punish us. He is waiting for us like a kind, welcoming host. He is waiting like this every single moment: “Come, I am here. If you want to be with Me, I am here. I am crucified, and I am waiting for you. Now I am in heaven.” That is why He stood up for Stephen, and why He stands up for others too. He says to us, “Those who are outside the Church—I am waiting for them, too.”
And as they were stoning him, Stephen was praying, “Lord, forgive them.” This is why he is such a great saint—because he acted exactly like Christ.
We know from the teaching of the Church that if someone prays for others, this prayer will work. We truly believe this. How did Saint Stephen’s prayer work? The Pharisees who were stoning him didn't change right then. But there was one Pharisee standing there—the one who would become Saint Paul the Apostle. At that time, his name was Saul—Shaul in Hebrew. He was standing there with the clothes of the Pharisees, holding their garments to help them. He was watching the whole thing.
When Stephen prayed, it was like a light shining out to others. But whose heart was actually ready and waiting? At that moment, it was only Saul’s.
Now, we must ask: what does it mean to celebrate the feast day of a saint? It is all about God. God is eternal. He is not bound by time. That is why Saint Stephen is preaching right now, today, for us! This is the real meaning of a feast day. It happened two thousand years ago, so why celebrate today? For this exact reason: because Stephen is preaching to us today that Christ is the true God.
And if someone doesn't want to believe, and they speak against you or even try to kill you, you have to pray for them, just like Christ did. Then you become a true martyr for the truth. Stephen died—he was stoned to death—but his heart was never turned to stone. This is the main thing! Those who killed him thought they were eliminating someone who was against God, but they were stoning a man who was praying to save them.
Remember what Jesus said: “They will think that by killing you, they are offering a service to God.” Saul was like this at first. He thought he was acting for God. But Saul was sincere; he was searching, trying to protect God’s law. That is why when Christ met him on the road and asked, “Why are you persecuting Me?”, Saul immediately responded, “Who are You, Lord? Here I am.” Why did he respond like that? Because his heart was searching for the truth. He was acting from that desire. But if a person just wants to shut you down, their heart is turned to stone, and they will not find God.
So let us pray to Saint Stephen to enlighten us, to help us understand who our God really is. We shouldn't just think, “Well, I am here, I am baptized, so that's enough.” The feast day calls us to pray, and to keep praying every minute. We need to understand that this isn't just about other people—about those who aren't in the Church, or explaining to others why Christ is the Messiah. No, we need this transformation ourselves!
We know God is One, that He is loving, and that He is waiting for everyone. It doesn't matter yet whether a person is baptized or not—He is waiting for the unbaptized to come, be baptized, and live! But for us who are already baptized, we have a much greater responsibility. We have to prove our Christianity by how we live—like Stephen did, not like the way we are living right now.
When someone says something bad to us or wants to harm us, what do we do? Like Stephen, we pray. When people curse us, we pray and we bless them. Christ explicitly commanded this. That is what Christianity is all about—it is about this alone. You have to seek and find who Jesus Christ really is. Do you want this? The Church is right here, and Christ is waiting for us. If you don't want this, why pretend to be a Christian? Why play at Christianity?
Yes, we know it is not easy. But when you love like Stephen loved, it becomes easier because you know that Christ is standing for you, doing everything for you. You are His choice! So we answer Him, “Yes, Lord, I want to be with You. I will try, I will keep Your commandments, and I will realize that without You, I can do nothing.”
This is the reason we begin to work on the commandments. What does it mean to be Orthodox? It means to work, to struggle. We have to do something, and God will help us and bless us. It is not enough to simply say, “I believe,” and stop there. No! The Holy Gospel tells us we must act on the commandments. And Saint John the Theologian tells us that His commandments are not burdensome—they are light!
When you feel that keeping the commandments is hard, you might wonder, “Why did he say it is easy?” It is easy with Christ. The point is not to stop trying, but to do everything with Christ. Then He will help us and enlighten us. He is standing right there for those who are searching for Him with love, just like Stephen did.
And what is love? Love means to sacrifice yourself for others—not to demand that others sacrifice themselves for you. No, you offer yourself. Stephen lived like this. If we don't start acting like this, our faith is just words.
Think of what Christ said: “This is My Body. This is My Blood.” It means everything in the Church is real! If you believe that what happens here is real, why live as if it were all just a symbolic memory? If it's just about remembering a historical event, then go live however you want. But we believe that this divine reality is present here in our Church—in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. We have to live in a way that shows this to the world, to be the salt of the earth, to be the light. And how do we become that light? By having the same spirit that Saint Stephen had. This is true Christianity. May God help us to understand this.
Everything comes down to humility. A proud man cannot pray for his enemies like Stephen did. People sometimes ask about martyrs in other places—why don't we revere them in the same way? We honor Stephen and the martyrs of the Church because a true martyr seeks nothing for himself. That selflessness is what makes a real martyr. Read about Saint Stephen, read about the martyrs, and you will understand what martyrdom means in the Orthodox Church.
In a sense, every one of us is called to be a martyr. Maybe every day, maybe in small ways, maybe all at once. We don't know. But we do know that every day, every minute, we are called to bear witness and die to ourselves for Christ. Even right now, as you stand here listening to me—maybe it's not easy to stand for so long! But we are here for this. We are happy because we are here with Christ.
When you feel God’s presence, as we have said many times: catch that feeling, hold onto it, and use it to move forward! God will show you the way and help you. Just like Stephen, look forward and see Christ standing and waiting for us.
We have to actively work on these truths. This is why we need the Holy Gospel. Without this book, it is impossible to be saved, but we also have to live according to this book. Orthodoxy is the Royal Path—the Golden Way. It is not just reading and believing, nor is it just doing good deeds without reading, because without the Scriptures, you cannot act correctly. It must be both together, wrapped in humility.
With humility, I can say: “I read the Scriptures, but there are many things I cannot understand on my own.” That is why I have the Church. That is why I have the Holy Fathers. If you believe you can understand everything by yourself, fine—but you are not walking with Christ at that point, because that is impossible. Saint Paul says that the Church has the mind of Christ—meaning those who are unified and sanctified within it. If someone thinks they are so holy that they don't need the Church, that is how we end up with thousands of different branches and divisions.
But here is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. These four marks are essential. This Church is the one established by Christ on the day of Pentecost. That is why Stephen became so great, so strong—because he received the grace of the Holy Spirit. Look at all the Apostles: read the Acts of the Apostles and you will see how they accomplished everything. Without the Church, without this grace, they could do nothing. It was only after Pentecost that they acted without fear—or rather, filled only with the holy fear of God. This is the main thing.
May God grant us that holy fear of God and a humility like His. Look at what Christ did: He died on the Cross and descended into hell. That means He will come to any place, no matter how dark, to be with you. He is with you right now. He is ready to wash your feet if you need it—and He has washed them! His washing was the foundation of our baptism. He is with us, cleansing us with His Blood and water.
May God bless us, and may Saint Stephen pray for us, so that we may understand what it truly means to die for Christ, and to give our lives for our brothers and friends. Amen.
Father Gabriel Mzhavia
