Stephen I of Rome

The holy Hieromartyr Stephen I of Rome was bishop of Rome from 254 to 257. His ministry was marked by a significant disagreement with the Churches of Africa and Asia Minor over the reception of those baptized by heretics.

Ministry

He was a Roman, of the gens Julia, and was elected on 12 May 254 after a vacancy of nearly seventy days, succeeding Saint Lucius I. He had served as archdeacon. He was called upon to judge the case of Spanish bishops deposed for having sacrificed to idols, and that of Marcian of Arles, who held with Novatian and refused penance to the fallen. The bishops of Gaul wrote to Stephen, and Saint Cyprian urged him to excommunicate Marcian.

The dispute over baptism

Saint Cyprian of Carthage, with the Churches of Africa, Syria and Asia Minor, taught that baptism by heretics is not valid and that they must be baptized again. Stephen, relying on the custom of Rome, Alexandria and Palestine, held that returning heretics need only receive the laying on of hands. He wrote to the Churches of Asia Minor that he could no longer keep communion with them and refused to receive Cyprian's envoys. Saint Dionysius of Alexandria, who shared his view, wrote urging him toward a more peaceful course. The rupture did not occur. Later the Church generally accepted baptism with water in the name of the Holy Trinity.

Repose

The lives of the Orthodox Church in America say he suffered under Emperor Valerian in 257, hiding in the catacombs, where soldiers killed him while he taught Christians, and mention disciples such as the tribune Nemesius who were martyred with him. The earliest sources, and the English-⁠language Orthodox calendar, present him only as a bishop and confessor. The Church commemorates him on 2 August.