Paul the Apostle

Saint

Paul the Apostle
Painting in the Grotto of St. Paul, Ephesus, late 5th century[1]
Apostle to the Gentiles, Martyr
BornSaul of Tarsus
c. 5 AD[2]
Tarsus, Cilicia, Roman Empire
Diedc. 64/65 AD[3][4]
Rome, Italia, Roman Empire[3][5]
Venerated inAll Christian denominations that venerate saints
CanonizedPre-Congregation
Major shrineBasilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome, Italy
Feast
AttributesChristian martyrdom, sword, book
PatronageMissionaries, theologians, evangelists, and Gentile Christians, Malta
Theology career
EducationSchool of Gamaliel[7]
Occupation(s)Christian missionary and preacher
Notable work
  • Certain:
  • Epistle to the Romans
  • Epistle to the Galatians
  • First Epistle to the Corinthians
  • Second Epistle to the Corinthians
  • First Epistle to the Thessalonians
  • Epistle to Philemon
  • Epistle to the Philippians
  • Disputed:
  • Second Epistle to the Thessalonians
  • Epistle to the Colossians
  • Epistle to the Ephesians
  • First Epistle to Timothy
  • Second Epistle to Timothy
  • Epistle to Titus
Theological work
EraApostolic Age
LanguageKoine Greek
Tradition or movementPauline Christianity
Main interestsTorah, Christology, eschatology, soteriology, ecclesiology
Notable ideasPauline privilege, Law of Christ, Holy Spirit, Unknown God, divinity of Jesus, thorn in the flesh, Pauline mysticism, biblical inspiration, supersessionism, non-circumcision, salvation

Paul,[a] also named Saul of Tarsus,[b] commonly known as Paul the Apostle[8] and Saint Paul,[9] was a Christian apostle (c. 5 – c. 64/65 AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world.[10] For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally regarded as one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age,[9][11] and he also founded several Christian communities in Asia Minor and Europe from the mid-40s to the mid-50s AD.[10]

The main source of information on Paul's life and works is the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament. Approximately half of its content documents his travels, preaching, and miracles. Paul was not one of the Twelve Apostles, and he did not know Jesus during his lifetime. Nonetheless, Paul was a contemporary of Jesus and personally knew eyewitnesses of Jesus such as his closest disciples (Peter and John) and brother James since the mid 30s AD, within a few years of the crucifixion (ca. 30-33 AD).[12][13] He had knowledge of the life of Jesus and his teachings.[note 1] According to the Acts, Paul lived as a Pharisee and participated in the persecution of early disciples of Jesus before his conversion.[note 2] On his way to arrest Christians in Damascus, Paul saw a bright light, heard Christ speak, was blinded, and later healed by Ananias. After these events, Paul was baptized, beginning immediately to proclaim that Jesus of Nazareth was the Jewish messiah and the Son of God.[14] He made three missionary journeys to spread the Christian message to non-Jewish communities.

Fourteen of the 27 books in the New Testament have traditionally been attributed to Paul.[15] Seven of the Pauline epistles are undisputed by scholars as being authentic. Of the other six, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus are generally considered pseudepigraphical, while Colossians and 2 Thessalonians are debated. Pauline authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews is almost universally rejected by scholars.[16] The other six are believed by some scholars to have come from followers writing in his name, using material from Paul's surviving letters and letters written by him that no longer survive.[9][note 3]

Today, Paul's epistles continue to be vital roots of the theology, worship, and pastoral life in the Latin and Protestant traditions of the West, as well as the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox traditions of the East.[18] Paul's influence on Christian thought and practice is pervasive in scope and profound in impact.[19] Christians, notably in the Lutheran tradition, have read Paul as advocating a law-free Gospel against Judaism. He has been accused of corrupting or hijacking Christianity, often by introducing pagan or Hellenistic themes to the early church.[20] There has recently been increasing acceptance of Paul as a fundamentally Jewish figure in line with the original disciples in Jerusalem over past interpretations, manifested through movements like "Paul Within Judaism".[21][22][23]

  1. ^ Trebilco 2023, pp. 368–369.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference pbs.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Brown 1997, p. 436.
  4. ^ Harris 2003, p. 42: He was probably martyred in Rome about 64–65 AD
  5. ^ Harris 2003.
  6. ^ Domar: the calendrical and liturgical cycle of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, Armenian Orthodox Theological Research Institute, 2003, p. 446.
  7. ^ Acts 22:3
  8. ^ Brown 1997, p. 442.
  9. ^ a b c Sanders 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Saint Paul the Apostle | Biography & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  11. ^ Dunn 2001, p. 577, Ch 32.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference ehrman1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gathercole was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Acts 9:3–22
  15. ^ Brown 1997, p. 407.
  16. ^ Brown, Fitzmyer & Murphy 1990, p. 920, col.2, Ch 60:2.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference umc.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Aageson 2008, p. 1.
  19. ^ Powell 2009.
  20. ^ Waardenburg 1999, p. 276.
  21. ^ Thiessen, Matthew (2023). A Jewish Paul. Baker Academic. pp. 4–10. ISBN 978-1540965714.
  22. ^ Fredriksen, Paula (2018). Paul: The Pagans' Apostle. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300240153.
  23. ^ Hurtado 2005, p. 160.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.