THE APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES
Paul of Tarsus, born as Saul and known as St. Paul, is a central figure in Christianity, and his life and works are described in the New Testament. He was born in Tarsus, Cilicia (now part of Turkey), to a Jewish family of Pharisaic lineage. The Pharisees were a religious and political group in Judaism that strictly followed the Mosaic Law and oral traditions. An apostle of the one and only true God, Jesus Christ, Paul was "the Apostle to the Gentiles," that is, the chief missionary of the Gospel of Jesus Christ among the pagan Greeks and Romans.
Paul, initially a persecutor of Christians, was converted to Christianity when, on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus to organize a crackdown on the city's Christians, he was suddenly enveloped by a dazzling light and heard the voice of Jesus Christ saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Rendered blind by this divine light, he wandered around Damascus for three days, where he was later healed by the leader of that city's small Christian community, Ananias. The episode, known as "Paul's conversion," began Paul's work of evangelization.
Like the other early Christian missionaries, he initially addressed his preaching to the Jews, but later devoted himself mainly to the "Gentiles." The territories he traveled in his itinerant preaching were initially Arabia (present-day Jordan), then mainly Achaia (present-day Greece) and Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). The success of his preaching put him at odds with some Christians of Jewish origin, who sought to impose on pagan converts the observance of all Jewish religious laws, especially circumcision. Paul stood firmly against such a demand and, thanks to his energetic and passionate character, was able to prevail. He called himself the last of the saints and the first of sinners, aware of his past as a persecutor and the forgiveness he received from Jesus Christ. He founded numerous Christian churches, of which he considered himself a father, having begotten them in Christ through the seed of his preaching. He is considered one of the greatest spreaders of the Kingdom of God.
He was arrested by the Romans in Jerusalem on charges of causing riots. Exercising his right as a Roman citizen, he appealed to the emperor's judgment and was transferred to Rome, where he spent several years under house arrest, yet continued his preaching. He died as a result of persecution initiated by Nero in 64 or 67 AD.