Atos 7
Arator
Atos 7:56
Having the light of his heart he sees the opened heavens, so that what Christ does may not be hidden. [Christ] rises before the martyr. [Stephen] then sees him standing, though our faith is prone rather to honor him as seated. The very Flesh joined to the Thunderer does honor to itself in Stephen. The General in his foreknowledge arms those whom he summons to gifts. Lest anyone here should fight uncertainly, the body is revealed in the citadel of God as a reward to its witness. — ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1
Atos 7:58
Insane, rebellious Judea, you hurl stones against Stephen, you who will always be stony because of your hard crime. — ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1
Atos 7:58
The savage men lay down their garments at the feet of Saul, what the Hebrew calls hell. Both sides now decide to declare what they deserve from this [martyrdom] when the martyr seeks heaven, the executioners "hell." The first circumstance [of martyrdom] reveals and makes as an example what flows from this fountain to one engaged in such a struggle; thus Tartarus quickly comes upon those who commit murder, while heaven lies open for the dying. — ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1
Atos 7:59
O martyr, embark on struggles which will cause happy deaths, where punishment is glory and to fall is a rising, and by slaughter is born immortality embracing the rewards of everlasting life. Lo, to have merited thus to die was the beginning of a blessed life without end. — ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1