St Stephen was the first disciple of Jesus to receive the Martyr's crown. His enemies accused him of trying to destroy the Jewish Temple. As Stephen was being stoned to death he knelt down and prayed "Lord, do not hold this sin against them. St Stephen's Day is 26th December, was also mentioned in the the famous Christmas Carol: Good King Wenceslaus. When you've listened to enough of the carol, click on the 'stop' button above!

The Legend says that on the Feast of Stephen, Wenceslaus saw a poor man in the distance, and set off - quite literally - for the man's home to alleviate his sufferings, warming the path of his less-than-enthusiastic page with the heat from his saintly footprints.

The story of Wenceslaus and his act of Christmas charity is one which is known world-wide thanks to the popular carol which tells his story, but very few people know anything about the real king - or about John Mason Neale, the priest who wrote the carol dedicated to him.

John Mason Neale was born in London in 1818, and after studying at Cambridge was ordained in 1842. He was dogged by ill-health, and in 1846 he accepted the less strenuous post of Warden to Sackville College, an alms house for the poor of East Grinstead in West Sussex, where he remained for the rest of his life. In 1854, Father John Mason Neale helped found the Sisterhood of St Margaret in East Grinstead, a move which was seen as `popish' by local Protestants who feared he was an undercover agent of the Vatican. His continued support for the nuns saw him attacked at the funeral of one of the sisters, and from time to time crowds threatened to stone him, or burn him out of his Sackville home. However Fr Mason Neale was a holy and dedicated priest and continued to minister to his impoverished flock. Eventually his simple goodness won over his critics. The Sisterhood of St Margaret in East Grinstead continued flourish and the sisters spread to many parts of the UK working in parishes, caring for the poor and nursing the sick.

Fr John Comper - the father of Ninian Comper, the architect of St Michael and All Angels - was Rector of the Church of St Margaret of Scotland, a strong Anglo-Catholic parish in Aberdeen’s Gallowgate. This was a poor area with low standard housing and many social problems. Fr Comper appealed to his good friend Fr John Mason Neale to send some of his Sisterhood to work in the parish ... and the Sisterhood of St Margaret of Scotland was established in a row of cottages belonging to a former sea-captain in The Spittal in Aberdeen. Year’s later, Fr John Comper’s son, Ninian Comper, designed a fine chapel for the Convent on the hill!

John Mason Neale was also a fine scholar. He translated the Eastern Liturgies and many Latin and Greek hymns into English. He is however best known as a hymn writer and translator, and has enriched English hymnody with many ancient and mediaeval hymns translated from Latin and Greek.

His best-known hymns include: A great and mighty wonder, All glory, laud and honor, Christ is made the sure foundation, Creator of the stars of night, Jerusalem the golden, Light’s abode, celestial Salem, O blest Creator of the light, Of the Father’s love begotten and The day of resurrection. More than anyone else, he made English-speaking congregations aware of the centuries-old tradition of Latin, Greek, Russian, and Syrian hymns.

In 1853 wrote one of the world's best-loved carols, choosing King Wenceslaus as his subject for a children's song to exemplify generosity. He set his words to a tune first published in 1582 in a collection of Swedish songs, and sung with a Latin text Tempus adest floridum (Spring has unwrapped her flowers).

The combination of his new words with a good traditional tune soon made Good King Wenceslaus a much-loved Christmas favourite, and it is now known world-wide. But who was the real Wenceslaus? And was he as good as Fr Mason Neale's words suggest?

Wenceslaus's grandfather, Borivoj, built the first Christian church in Bohemia. A 1000 year-old oak still stands in Stochov, the border castle which legend says was the birthplace of the young Wenceslaus in 907. It is said that Wenceslaus's grandmother, St Ludmila, planted the tree to celebrate his birth, and that its near-miraculous longevity is due to his nanny sprinkling his bath water over the sapling.

Wenceslaus was just 13 years old when his father Wratislaus died, and he became the Duke of Bohemia under the regency of his mother, Drahormira, until he should reach the age of majority. Bought up with a strong Christian faith by St Ludmila, his grandmother, Wenceslaus believed in practical works of charity as a means of expressing his faith. Soon Ludmila urged him to take control of the throne by force and impose Christianity on the land.

All was not to go according to plan. His mother, Drahormira joined an anti-Christian alliance, the Magyars, and arranged the murder of St Judmila, taking over the government. The country slid back into its old pagan ways. The church was persecuted and many priests suffered.

Two years later, Wenceslaus overthrew his mother, banished her from Bohemia and returned his country to the Christian way of life for. He built the Rotunda of St Vitus, a sophisticated construction for its time, in Prague Castle, brought in priests to educate his people, freed child slaves and gave shelter to orphans. According to some sources, Wenceslaus even considered going to Rome and dedicating himself to the religious life.

He had discussions with his brother, Boleslav, about passing the throne over to him. The birth of Wenceslaus’ son (and heir) meant that Boleslaus was no longer successor to the throne. He was an ambitious man, and joined a group of noble Czech dissenters. Sometime between 929 and 935 they invited Wenceslaus to a religious festival, trapped and killed him on the way to Mass. The Czechs never forgot their Good King - or the legend that in times of great difficulty he would return to help his people, riding out of Mount Banik on a white horse before an army of celestial knights to defeat their enemies and bring lasting peace to the land. His picture was used on Bohemian coins, and the Crown of Wenceslaus became the symbol for Czech independence. As Bohemia's most famous martyr, King Wenceslaus was also adopted as the country's Patron Saint with his feast day celebrated on 28th September. On the Feast of Stephen, we have good cause to honour Good King Wenceslaus as we sing the wonderful Carol written by Fr John Mason Neale: