His followers were known as Stephanites and were known for their strict ascetical observances of the Bible and early Christian fathers, soli Deo gloria veneration to God alone and not to religious icons and saints.
Over the course of a century of persecution by clergy and five consecutive kings following Zara Ya'iqob, membership in the Stephanites movement dwindled and vanished.
Despite his family's military background and their expectations for him to become a soldier like his father, young Estifanos was drawn to religious life from an early age.
It was through these spiritual journeys that Estifanos eventually encountered the teachings of Abba Gebre Nazrawi, which began to influence his theological views and set him on the path to becoming a reformer within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
According to the Chronicle of Zara Ya'iqob, since the Stephanites refused to bow to the Cross of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, the king had their noses and ears cut off and stoned them.