Paul the Apostle

Life events

1. Born — 5

   Born Saul of Tarsus, from a devout Jewish family of the tribe of Benjamin in Tarsus, a major commercial city in the Roman province of Cilicia. He held Roman citizenship by birth and was trained as a tentmaker.

2. Educated — 30

   Sent to Jerusalem while still young to study at the school of Gamaliel, one of the most renowned teachers of Jewish law. He self-identified as a Pharisee and participated in the persecution of early followers of Jesus, including presence at the martyrdom of Stephen.

3. Other

   On the road to Damascus to arrest Christians, Saul experienced a vision of the risen Christ, was struck blind for three days, and was healed and baptized by Ananias of Damascus. Paul dates his conversion in Galatians to 31–36 AD. He immediately began proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God in Damascus synagogues.

4. Council — 49

   Attended the Council of Jerusalem (AD 49 by traditional dating), where Peter, James, and John accepted Paul's mission to the Gentiles and debated the question of circumcision for Gentile converts. This meeting is documented in both Acts 15 and Paul's letter to the Galatians.

5. Wrote

   Composed the seven undisputed epistles — Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon — during his missionary journeys and imprisonment. These letters constitute the earliest surviving Christian writings and the primary documentary source for Paul's theology.

6. Imprisoned — 57

   Arrested in Jerusalem in 57 AD after being accused by Jews from Asia of defiling the Temple. Held under guard by governors Felix and then Festus in Caesarea for two years before exercising his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar, which transferred his case to Rome.

7. Other — 60

   Arrived in Rome c. 60 AD after shipwreck on Malta and spent approximately two years under house arrest, preaching from his rented home while awaiting trial. Irenaeus (2nd century) identified Paul and Peter as co-founders of the Roman church.

8. Martyred

   Executed in Rome during the Neronian persecution, traditionally by beheading. Eusebius of Caesarea and Jerome both record his death under Nero; Sulpicius Severus specifies decapitation while Peter was crucified. His burial on the Via Ostiensis is attested by Caius (c. 198 AD) and confirmed by excavations of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.

Relationships

Documented claims

• Paul carried two names from birth: the Hebrew Saul (שָׁאוּל), after the first king of Israel from the tribe of Benjamin, and the Latin Paulus (meaning 'small'), his Roman cognomen used when addressing Greco-Roman audiences. He adopted Paul as his consistent preference in his own letters. (likely)
• Seven of the 13 New Testament letters bearing Paul's name — Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon — are almost universally accepted as authentic. Pauline authorship of Hebrews is almost universally rejected by scholars. (certain)
• In 2002, an 8-foot marble sarcophagus inscribed PAULO APOSTOLO MART ('Paul apostle martyr') was discovered beneath the altar of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. Radiocarbon dating announced by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 placed bone fragments from the sarcophagus in the 1st or 2nd century. (likely)
• Paul publicly confronted Peter at Antioch — the 'Incident at Antioch' — over Peter's refusal to share meals with Gentile Christians in deference to Jewish customs. Writing in Galatians, Paul states: 'I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.' The outcome of the confrontation is disputed by scholars. (certain)
• Paul's letters contain the earliest written reference to 'the Lord's Supper', the rite traditionally identified as the Christian Eucharist or communion, predating the gospel accounts of the Last Supper. (likely)