Saint Paul the Apostle (5-67 AD) was an apostle of the early Christian Church. Originally known as Saul of Tarsus, he was once involved in the persecution of Christians, but he later converted after seeing a resurrected Jesus near Antioch, and he became the early Church's greatest missionary. Paul wrote a collection of open letters termed the "Pauline epistles", which contained doctrinal points as well as instructions, greetings, and commendations to bishops or local congregations. Along with Saint Peter, he was martyred by Emperor Nero in 67 after being blamed for starting the Great Fire of Rome.
Biography[]
Saul's conversion
Saul of Tarsus was born to a devout Jewish family in Tarsus, Cilicia in 5 AD, and he belonged to the Pharisees. He was educated in Jerusalem, and he took an active part in the 34 AD stoning of Saint Stephen, the first martyr of Christianity. He persecuted other disciples in the Jerusalem area until, while traveling on the Jerusalem-Damascus road, he had a vision of Jesus, who blinded him for three days. After his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus, he preached that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God, and he went on to found several churches in Asia Minor and Europe from the mid-30s to the mid-50s AD. Paul was said by some to be the most important figure in the spread of Christianity, taking part in hazardous journeys across both land and sea (surviving several shipwrecks and walking for several hunred miles across the Roman world). Paul, a tentmaker by trade, would often spread the word of Christianity to his customers, and he converted many pagans to his religion through stories of miracles and salvation; when he went to synagogues, the Jews there were less enthusiastic about his teachings.
After seven days in Jerusalem in 57 AD, he was accused of blasphemy for bringing gentiles into the Temple, and he was arrested by Roman soldiers. He was imprisoned in Caesarea Maritima for two years, and he sailed to Rome to stand trial. He arrived in 60 AD, and he spent two more years under house arrest. In 64 AD, following the Great Fire of Rome, Emperor Nero blamed the Christians for it and had Paul decapitated three years later. His head was said to have rebounded three times, giving source to a water fountain each time it touched the ground.
