Even though the Acts of the Apostles (chapters 6 and 7) gives great importance to the martyrdom of the most famous among the first seven deacons of the Church, it tells us nothing about the actual date of Stephen’s passion.
By the 4th century, however, his feast was already being celebrated very close to the Nativity of the Savior, and in the East also on December 27 or January 8, shortly after Epiphany. In this way, Saint Stephen is counted among the comites Christi—the companions of Christ, part of the retinue of the Word made flesh, who appeared in this world, and whom Stephen, before dying, was already able to see in the other world. August 2 and 3 are also feast days of Saint Stephen: they mark the discovery and the translation of his relics, and perhaps also the dedication of a church in his honor.
In the year 415, the bones of Saint Stephen, together with those of Gamaliel, Nicodemus, and Abdon, were discovered after a revelation. No one doubted the authenticity of these relics, and the discovery caused a great stir throughout the Christian world. Soon after, Paulus Orosius carried part of Stephen’s relics to Menorca; the enthusiasm was so intense there that people began attacking Jews and destroying synagogues. Not everywhere did people react in such a violent and unchristian way. Still, this discovery greatly increased the devotion to the Protomartyr.
