Saint Paul, also called Saul in Hebrew, was a leader of the early Christian movement and was very important in its spread throughout the Roman world. He was born in Tarsus between 1 A.D and 10 A.D. Thirteen of New Testament letters have been attributed to him. The Book of Acts presents him as the apostle to the Gentiles and the most prominent early Christian leader next to Saint Peter. Paul was born a Jew and was trained to be a Pharisee. The New Testament records how he actively tried to suppress the early Christian movement through persecution until he was converted to Christianity by a visionary encounter with the risen Jesus while on the road to Damascus. Because of this vision, Paul held that he, too, had met Jesus and was therefore qualified to be called an Apostle. After being instructed and receiving Christian baptism in Damascus.
Paul spent the following 10 years on 3 lengthy missionary journeys to Anatolia and Greece. The second journey in Corinth and the third, in Ephesus on the Aegean Sea. During this time Paul wrote letters to churches he had previously founded and could not visit in person. Some of these letters have been preserved in the New Testament.
The different accounts of Paul's visit to Jerusalem to settle the controversy over how much of the Jewish Law Gentile Christians were required to keep have never been fully reconciled. Years later, Paul brought a collection to Jerusalem for the city's poor Christians, but he was arrested. After 2 years in prison he used his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to the emperor and was sent to Rome for trial. The Book of Acts ends with Paul under house arrest, still preaching about Jesus. Clement of Rome and Eusebius of Caesarea report that Paul was eventually acquitted and traveled to Spain but was arrested again and martyred in Rome under Nero, c.67. Feast day: June 29 (with Saint Peter).
