Welcome to the opening matchup of Lent Madness 2022! If you’re joining us for the first time, we’re delighted you’re along for this wild, saintly ride. If you’re 
curious about what this all entails, check out the About Lent Madness tab on the website.
To experience the fullness of Lent Madness, the Supreme Executive Committee (the somewhat benevolent dictatorship that runs this whole enterprise) encourages you to do a couple things. First, like Lent Madness on Facebook and/or follow us on Twitter. Second, subscribe to the Lent Madness e-mails so you never miss a vote — you’ll get each matchup hand-delivered to your inbox on the weekdays of Lent. You can do this by going to the home page of our website and entering your e-mail address.
But mostly, we encourage you to read about the 32 saints participating in this year’s edition of Lent Madness, faithfully cast your (single!) vote on the weekdays of Lent, and add your comments to the great cloud of participating witnesses that gathers as the online Lent Madness community each year. It's true that this is the only place on the internet where reading the comments is actually edifying.
If you’re wondering when your favorite saint will be competing – in order to rally your friends and neighbors (creative campaigning is encouraged, voter fraud is not) – you can check out the 2022 Matchup Calendar. And if you'd like to see all 32 saints (plus Tim and Scott) represented in peg doll form, check out this AMAZING video from our friends at St. James Cathedral in South Bend, Indiana.
Things kick off with a matchup that may just leave you humming a certain Christmas carol, as Stephen faces off against Wenceslaus. Friends, it's time to cast your very first vote of Lent Madness 2022! We’re glad you’re all here. Now get to it!
Stephen
Along with six other Greek-speaking believers, Stephen was selected to be a deacon in the Greek-speaking Christian community in Jerusalem, tasked with serving and providing for those in need. In some traditions, Stephen is identified as the eldest of these first deacons and given the title of archdeacon.
Set to the task of providing for the poor, Deacon Stephen also kept busy performing “wonders and signs” among the people. As is often the case, compassion was met with anger—as was his teaching and preaching—and Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin as a criminal.
Arguing for his life, Stephen could have chosen the easy path. Instead, he spoke truth to those who held power. He preached a sermon that accused his listeners of murdering the prophets who foretold the coming of Jesus. This went over like a lead balloon.
The authorities immediately took Stephen out and stoned him. Stephen became the protomartyr; the first follower of Jesus to give up their life for the sake of the gospel. And in his death, there resounded echoes of the death of Jesus as Stephen used his last breath to pray for the forgiveness of his killers.
In life, Stephen’s story is tied to Jerusalem, but in death, Stephen has been a world traveler. At various points in time, Stephen’s remains have rested in both Jerusalem and Rome. In Jerusalem, one of the major gates to the city still bears his name. In Rome, it is said that the remains of another deacon, Lawrence, miraculously moved to make room for the first archdeacon of the church.
Stephen’s feast day is December 26, the first commemoration to follow the day of the Nativity of our Lord, just as his death was the first to follow the crucifixion of our Lord.
Collect for Stephen
We give you thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and prayed for his persecutors to your Son Jesus Christ, who stands at your right hand; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen
-- David Hansen
Wenceslaus
Most of us are familiar with Good King Wenceslaus who goes out on the snowy evening of December 26. But Saint Wenceslaus was not a king, nor did he likely venture out on the feast of Stephen in deep snow. He was, however, a deeply faithful Christian whose life set the standard for a godly ruler for centuries to come.
Wenceslaus was born in Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic) in the early 900s. His grandparents and his father, the Duke of Bohemia, were faithful Christians, but his mother, Dragomir, remained a staunch devotee of pagan faith. When Wenceslaus was 13, his father died. His Christian grandmother Ludmilla became regent and guardian of Wenceslas, but Wenceslaus’s mother murdered Ludmilla and took control of the government. She instituted harsh penalties against Christians in Bohemia and tried desperately to convert her son to the pagan ways. When Wenceslaus came of age, he banished his mother and took control of the government himself.
Wenceslaus took a vow of chastity and worked tirelessly to share the Christian faith with his subjects. As a leader, he preferred diplomacy to war. One legend holds that as his army faced a challenger, Wenceslaus sent an offer of peace. His opponent viewed the peace offering as a sign of weakness and prepared to attack. Wenceslaus offered to fight his opponent one-on-one to avoid massive casualties. As the two men walked toward each other, his opponent saw two angels guarding Wenceslaus. His opponent wisely chose Wenceslaus’s offer of peace.
Wenceslaus’s brother Boleslav was threatened by this modernization and Christianization of Bohemia. On September 28, 935, as Wenceslaus entered a church to attend mass, Boleslav murdered Wenceslaus by running him through with a lance. Almost immediately, Wenceslaus was venerated as a martyr. Reports of miracles occurring at his tomb led Boleslav to relocate the bones to St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. Wenceslaus was promoted to kingship posthumously by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. The Crown of Wenceslaus became the symbol for Czech independence. Within decades of his death, hagiographies, or biographies of saints, of Wenceslaus were popular and established the model for the righteous king, whose power is rooted in piety.
Collect for Wenceslaus
Almighty God, you gave to your servant Wenceslaus special gifts of grace to understand and teach the truth as it is in Christ Jesus: Grant that by this teaching we may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-- Laurie Brock
UPDATE: At about 10:30 EST, we removed just over 600 votes from Wenceslaus due to some cheating. Remember that we encourage you to vote once and once only. Voting too many times gets you banned from the Saintly Smackown.
[poll id="332"]
277 comments on “Stephen vs. Wenceslaus”
Going with Wenceslaus this morning, though he’s clearly an underdog in today’s matchup. Prayers for Ukraine.
Thanks to John Cabot for starting things off with a song of verses, if not a limerick.
Very hard choice on the first day! Had to go with Stephen in the end.
Once again the decision is a hard one. Both of these deserve the Golden Halo. Of course I look forward to the songs/limericks and comments every year.
I agree that this is a 'toughie'. In the end, I voted for Stephen because our church needs more deacons to support the clergy. Our rector has been overwhelmed these past two years and the bishop keeps promising he'll find a deacon to help - so far, nobody.
A little clarification from a deacon: deacons ARE clergy - an equal but distinct order. Deacons are not assistant priests. Transitional deacons, "priests with training wheels" as our former Archdeacon for Deacons phrased it, are a different kettle of fish. also, the ministry of the diaconate is supposed to take place largely outside the parish, ministering to the needy in the community, and acting as a bridge between the church and the world. My heart goes out to your overworked priest, but a deacon may not be the assistant she or he is looking for.
Well said. Maybe a look by the vestry at what that overworked priest is doing that canonically does not require ordination to do might be in order. Maybe there are things, for example pastoral care visits, that can be done by properly trained lay people. We are all called to be ministers after all.
I have a strong affinity for Stephen, but Wenceslaus got my vote. It would have been easier for him to listen to his mother and go the pagan route, but he was strong in his faith. It certainly would have been easier to defer to his brother with the long pointy object, but he stayed strong in his faith.
I love Lent Madness for learning about 32 amazing people. I learned more about WENCESLAUS, today, thus my vote.
If only some other world leaders could learn to follow his examples of diplomacy and putting your own body on the line first.
May there be Angels guarding the Slavic peoples today. Team Wenceslaus.
For some reason I always think of “the Feast of Stephen” as a place like “ the Plains of Abraham.” Maybe it was from an old Schweppes commercial.
May peace prevail on the earth.
I am all in for Stephen and for deacons everywhere! God bless the Deacons and we need more of them!
Chose Stephen because my home church is Saint Stephen's Anglican.
While I admire Wenceslaus and love the carol, I am a deacon and will vote for Stephen. He spoke truth to power and forgave those killing me. What greater example is there?
My brother’s name is Steven and my husband and I were married on St Stephen’s Day in 1959. (We just celebrated 62 years of married bliss) voting for St. Stephen was a “no brainer” for me!
St. Stephen took the risk of freedom of speech as he appeared before the Sanhedrin. To be stoned by an angry crowd was the harshest penalty for love of Jesus.
excuse me: killing him. (Still early in the morning)
Technical point only: the banner "who will win the Golden Halo", on my MAC at least, keeps bouncing down and sometimes obscures text. Hope that can be fixed?
Thanks for your feedback. This shouldn't be an issue going forward.
I'm having the same issue. I'm glad to hear it will be addressed. Reader mode in Safari only works for the post and not for the voting or the reading of comments. Also, I miss all the comments being on one page.
I'm struggling with the new comments format also.
I'm going for my fellow deacon, Stephen.
My vote went to Stephen who spoke truth to power. Oh how we need more like him today! Also, Stephen was my first grandchild.
Love Wenceslaus and his protective angels. Pray they show up in the Ukraine. St. W.'s feast day is my birthday, Sept. 28, so he got my vote.
John Cabot: I'll never listen to this carol the same. Tough choice, but I had to go for the protomartyr in honor of the wonderful deacons I've known.
I was born on St. Stephen's feast day, so I voted for him. It was a difficult choice, however.
I can't hear of St. Stephens day and not think of a third martyr - Thomas Becket. On Stephen vs Wenceslas - Many of us hear Stephen's name every day, most of us probably only hear of Wenceslas when singing Christmas carols. Both of their lives are compelling examples to follow. I'm voting for Wenceslas - His example resonates with today's headlines - we need for world leaders to make this moment his day.
Deacons and Cousins are important to all of us and though my cousin is not a Saint, well maybe, Stephen has my vote. Plus on further research I found another source that says a patron saint of bricklayers he is, so the stone that marked his end has become known as a "brick"?
Tough choice; named a son Stephen and traveled in Czech Republic where I heard the stories of their saint.
As a member of St. Stephen's Terre Haute, I MUST vote for Stephen. Our Deacon, Deby is an example to all on loving and caring for those in need. So in honor of all our deacons out there loving and serving. VOTE STEPHEN!!
At a time when peace is so desperately needed in our world, I cast my vote for Wenceslaus, praying that we would always take his way of peace instead of war.
That's what influenced my vote as well. Could have gone either way, but the diplomacy instead of war sealed the deal.
I agree and so voted as you did. In this perilous time, his desire for peace speaks loudly.
My reasoning exactly!
I generally default to the Biblical saints because Hooker says appeal first to Scripture then reason adn tradition. I see those who come after the Biblical saints ones who carry on their tradition. Today I Wenceslaus because a) I preached on him on the Feast of Stephen this year; b) he also spoke truth to power (banished his mother!); and c) in this year's world, I stand with anybody who is a symbol of national sovereignty in the former Soviet Bloc. As always, both are right answers but a choice must be made so I made mine.
Really one need only read Stephen's monologue (defense) in Acts to know what an amazing Saint he is. He got my vote
My husband is a Steven so I always make note of St. Stephen’s Day. I don’t cast my votes for that type of reasoning. But because I remember the day, I also remember that he was the first Christian martyr, did not take the easy way out, and prayed for his killers. ST. STEPHEN!
Thank you for all the work that goes into this. It “makes” my Lent every year
Great matchup. Illuminating comments. Tough decision. It's a promising first round in Lent Madness 2022.
I was interested to read about Wenceslaus. Although I always loved the carol, I somehow remained ignorant about the life of the martyr. It's true that we could use his example at this terrible time, and I could easily have voted for him. Instead, Stephen gets my vote, in part out of respect for his status as protomartyr but also because of my memories of visits to the Cluny Museum in Paris and its captivating Saint Etienne tapestries.
Of course I thought I'd vote for Stephen, but in these days as Russia invades the Ukraine, the need for just rulers, messengers of peace, seems so great, I had to vote for Wenceslaus.
St. Wenceslaus was a good man and inspired one of the great Christmas songs.
St. Stephen spoke truth to power, fatally, and also inspired an equally great song, IMHO. I wonder if anyone here remembers these lyrics as fondly as I do?
"Saint Stephen with a rose
In and out of the garden he goes
Country garland in the wind and the rain
Wherever he goes, the people all complain
Stephen prospered in his time
Well he may and he may decline
Did it matter? Does it now?
Stephen would answer if he only knew how"
Casting my vote for Stephen.
Oh yeah ... I kind of remember that tune...
(Earworm all morning actually!)