Martyr Stephen of Kazan

Stephen of Kazan was a Tatar convert to Christianity who was martyred for his faith in the years following the incorporation of Kazan into Muscovite Russia. He is commemorated on March 24, together with the Martyr Peter of Kazan, a fellow newly-baptized Tatar.

By the account preserved in the synaxarion, Stephen had suffered for more than twenty years from a weakness in his legs. After the capture of Kazan by Tsar Ivan IV ("the Terrible") in 1552, he came to believe in Christ and was healed of his infirmity. He was baptized by Archpriest Menignus of the Moscow cathedral, who had come to the Russian army bearing a letter from Metropolitan Macarius.

When the Russian army withdrew from the city, the Tatars turned upon those who had embraced Christianity. Because Stephen remained faithful to Christ, he was cut to pieces, his body scattered, and his house plundered. He is honored as a martyr who would not forsake the faith he had received.