Today's lesson
Who was the first martyr (Protomartyr)?
St. Stephen
What was Queen Helena known for finding?
The True Cross of Christ.
What was St. Theodora's life like when she was young?
She was known for being good and pure and was married to a rich and good man.
What was Stephen's role in the early Church? How many were they? what did they do?
He was one of the seven deacons and helped the people like the widows and the poor in Jerusalem.
Who was Queen Helana's son? and what did he see in the sky before his war? and what did he order his soldiers to do before the war? Did they win?
Emperor Constantine. Constantine saw a Cross of light in the sky with the words, “By this conquer.” He then ordered his soldiers to put the sign of the Cross on their shields before going into battle. Yes, they won the battle.
What did St. Theodora decide to do after she sinned and betrayed her husband?
She decided to repent and stay in a monastery for the rest of her life.
Why were the Jews angry at St. Stephen?
Because he kept talking about Jesus Christ and how he is the fulfillment of the Old Testament.
What vision did Queen Helena have?
She had a vision that showed her where the Cross of Christ was buried, which led her to search for it in Jerusalem.
What did St. Theodora do to enter the monastery (that was only for men)?
She shaved her hair and dressed in men’s clothes so she could enter the monastery and live a life of repentance.
What did St. Stephen see before gets stoned? How did the Jews react to hearing it?
He saw heaven opened and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. when he tried to tell them what he saw they closed their ears and kept screaming.
How did Queen Helena find the True Cross? What was above the Cross?
She asked people where it was, and she eventually found the three crosses buried under a pile of dirt and debris near Golgotha.
What did the woman accuse St. Theodora of doing? What was her punishment? Did she defend herself?
The woman accused St. Theodora of being the father of her baby, even though she was not. This caused St. Theodora to be blamed and sent away with the baby from the monastery for 7 years and didn't defend herself.
What did Stephen pray while people were hurting him? What does Stephen's story teach us?
“Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” He teaches us to remain faithful to Christ, be courageous, and forgive others even when they hurt us.
How many crosses they found? How did they know the one for Christ?
They found three crosses buried together. They knew which one when they touched the crosses to a dead man, and when they touched him with the True Cross, he came back to life.
When and How did the monks discover that St. Theodora was actually a woman? What happened to the baby?
They discovered it after she died, when they prepared her body for burial and saw that she was a woman. The baby stayed at the monastery.