Stephen Name Day In Bulgaria

Name days have begun in earnest as most fall in the season leading up to spring just after Christmas. This is the first, Stephen name day. Always an excuse to celebrate and why not, names are important and worth celebrating. Up and down the country those Bulgarians with the name Stephen or variation of it will be in great joy with friends and family having another celebration so soon after Christmas.

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church marks Sunday the Day of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr and first archdeacon in the Jerusalem Community Church.

The community church accepted people from all social circles and the rich supported the church while Stephen designated the activity and the vocation of each member.

It is believed that this has been the first real Christian community, which was so just and fair that it triggered the envy of the Judea. They slandered the archdeacon and he was tried by the Sanhedrin (high priests) for blasphemy against Moses and God and speaking against the Temple and the Law. Stephen was stoned to death (c. A.D. 34–35) by an infuriated mob.

Saint Stephen's name is derived from the Greek Stephanos, meaning "crown." Traditionally, Saint Stephen is invested with a crown of martyrdom for Christianity; he is often depicted in art with three stones and the martyrs' palm. In Eastern Christian iconography, he is shown as a young beardless man with a tonsure, wearing a deacon's vestments, and often holding a miniature church building or a censer.

In 415 CE Christian pilgrims discovered Stephen's relics, after which they were solemnly transferred to a church built in his honor in Jerusalem.

Saint Stephen Day is also the Third Day of the Nativity in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the name day of Stefan and Stefka and their derivatives such as Stefanka, Stefaniya, Fanny, Bentsislav, Stamen, Stansilava, Tsanko, Stoyan etc.

Source: http://www.novinite.com