Venerable-Martyr 8th century

Monastic Martyr Stephen the New

c. 715 – c. 764

Also known as Stephen of Mount Auxentius

A monk who resisted iconoclasm under Constantine V and was imprisoned, tortured, and martyred for venerating the holy icons.

Feast Day

November 28

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Stephen the New, Monastic Martyr and Confessor of Mount Saint Auxentius

Life

Stephen the New was a monk of Constantinople and one of the foremost opponents of Byzantine iconoclasm during the reign of Emperor Constantine V (741–775). According to his Life, he was born in Constantinople around 715 to devout Christian parents — his father Gregory a craftsman and his mother named Anna — and was dedicated to God in infancy. He was baptised in the Hagia Sophia by Patriarch Germanus I.

At about the age of sixteen Stephen was placed under the monk John on Mount Saint Auxentius in Bithynia, where he lived as a disciple for more than fifteen years. After John's death he succeeded his teacher and founded a monastery, serving as its abbot, and later withdrew to a more solitary, eremitic life. The reputation of his community for ascetic discipline and Orthodox piety, together with his own renown, drew the attention of the iconoclast court.

Stephen refused to accept the decisions of the iconoclast Council of Hieria of 754, becoming a leading and outspoken defender of the veneration of icons. The authorities first sought to win him over with persuasion and inducements and then turned to threats and false accusations. He was arrested, confined, and exiled, and ultimately, by tradition, was dragged through the streets of Constantinople and beaten to death for his confession of the holy images. He is commemorated on November 28 as a venerable-martyr and confessor.

Timeline 6 moments Read Hide

c. 715 Birth in Constantinople Stephen is born at Constantinople, according to his Life to parents Gregory and Anna, and is dedicated to God in infancy; he is baptised in the Hagia Sophia by Patriarch Germanus I.
c. 731 Enters monastic life on Mount Saint Auxentius At about age sixteen he is placed under the monk John on Mount Saint Auxentius in Bithynia, where he lives as a disciple for more than fifteen years.
c. 743–746 Succeeds his teacher and founds a monastery After John's death Stephen succeeds him, founds a monastery, and serves as its abbot, later withdrawing to a more solitary life.
754 Rejects the Council of Hieria He refuses to accept the decisions of the iconoclast Council of Hieria, becoming one of the leading opponents of the iconoclastic policy of Emperor Constantine V.
c. 760–764 Persecution, exile, and imprisonment Following false accusations, he is arrested, sent away from his monastery, exiled to an island in the Sea of Marmara, and finally brought to a prison in Constantinople.
c. 764 Martyrdom in Constantinople By tradition he is dragged by soldiers through the streets of Constantinople and clubbed to death for his veneration of the icons.

Contributions & Legacy

4 contributions Read Hide

Historical Context

Stephen's life unfolded during the first period of Byzantine iconoclasm, the imperial policy — advanced sharply under Constantine V — of suppressing the making and veneration of religious images. The iconoclast Council of Hieria in 754 gave the policy a conciliar endorsement, and monastic communities, which were strongholds of icon veneration, bore much of the ensuing persecution.

As an abbot whose monastery was known for its ascetic rigor and adherence to the veneration of icons, Stephen became a conspicuous and influential opponent of the imperial program. The emperor is reported to have regarded him as a strong and implacable adversary, and efforts were made to break his resistance first by inducement and then by coercion and slander.

Imprisonment and Martyrdom

After refusing to conform, Stephen was subjected to a campaign of false accusation — his Life records charges leveled against him to discredit him — and was exiled to an island in the Sea of Marmara before being returned to a prison in Constantinople. Accounts relate that he was held together with a large company of monks and elders condemned for the veneration of icons, whom he is said to have encouraged during their confinement.

By tradition his death came when soldiers dragged him through the streets of the city and beat him to death; his body was cast into a pit. Sources differ on the exact year of his martyrdom, placing it in the mid-760s.

Relics & Shrines

According to his Life, Stephen's skull was rescued by one of his followers after his death. Later tradition associates the relic with monastic houses, and it is reported in Orthodox sources to be kept at the monastery of Saint Panteleimon on Mount Athos.

Legacy

Stephen the New is remembered as a venerable-martyr and confessor of the iconodule cause, and he is depicted among the defenders of the holy images in the icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, which commemorates the final restoration of the veneration of icons in 843. His feast is kept on November 28.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints