Martyrdom, dear sisters and brothers, carries another important characteristic - that is for the Church and for us. It is the witness and message found in the Book of Acts. In the witness of the St. Stephen, the Proto-martyr, there is a confession of truth, an act of expressing one s faith, a declaration and testimony to believing in holiness. There isn t an expression of fanaticism or desire to kill others. There is only the readiness to give one s life for truth, values, justice.
Violence is absent.
We must remember that Stephen is a Christian, and he must keep his eyes on heaven. In the final moments of the martyrs we see that there is no pain in sacrificing one s life. Rather, the action of giving one s life is a filled with a type of joy and gladness. The witness of Father Mitrophanes demonstrated that in Christ there is no fear, love knows no fear. With boldness, this great Saint of the Church embraced the flock and cared for the faithful as a good shepherd does his flock.