Saint Paul: Life, Missions, and Legacy in Christianity

Early Life and Conversion of Saint Paul

The man we know as Saint Paul was Paul of Tarsus — a figure not everyone has found comfortable. Many find him harsh, difficult, and uncompromising. This was true not only in later centuries but also in his own time, among early associates and fellow saints of the Catholic Church, including Saint Peter, Saint Mark, and Saint Barnabas. The gentle Saint James once even advised him to be more diplomatic and tactful. Yet, in the end, the other saints came to look upon him with reverence and affection, as does anyone who comes to know him through the study of his epistles and the Acts of the Apostles. He is a person of indomitable spirit, filled with such loyalty and affection for his friends that his tough exterior ultimately falls away, revealing an individual full of humanity and holiness in his every breath.

Tarsus, his birthplace, was a prosperous university city located in Asia Minor. His parents were Roman citizens, and thus the family enjoyed good social standing. His upbringing was under the strict Pharisee tradition, and he studied Jewish theology under the famous Rabbi Gamaliel. He was set on a path to achieve great things, and he set out for Jerusalem — approximately a year after the crucifixion of Christ — carrying with him the expectations of everyone around him.

Paul was present during the martyrdom of Saint Stephen and would have heard him pray for his murderers. That prayer may well have been answered when, shortly afterward, as Paul proceeded to Damascus, he had a blinding vision of Christ. This experience turned him from being a persecutor of Christians into one of their greatest leaders. Yet time elapsed before he began to play the role required of him. Soon after his baptism, Saint Paul retired to the desert and spent two years in meditation before returning to Damascus. It would be three more years before he proceeded to Jerusalem to meet the Apostles, after which he retired once again to Tarsus.

There is thus a span of ten years — roughly 34 AD to 44 AD — during which Saint Paul remains out of sight. It was probably during this time, with God by his side and his formidable intellect to guide him, that he built the bridge between Christianity and Judaism, between Gentile and Hebrew, which remains one of his greatest contributions. This does not mean that Saint Paul was the first to baptize a non-Jew; that credit belongs to Saint Peter and Saint Philip.

The Missionary Ministry Begins

The systematic approach of preaching to non-Jews began only in the early 40s of the first century. Saint Barnabas, who was commissioned for this purpose, sought out Saint Paul, who had been largely forgotten in Tarsus, and managed to convince him to return to active ministry. Saint Paul came back with him to Antioch and from that time immersed himself fully in missionary work, spreading the word of the Lord. The scholar and thinker had transformed into teacher and preacher.

The historical records available on Saint Paul far outnumber those of any other scriptural saint. The most important among these are the fourteen letters attributed to Saint Paul that are included in the New Testament and Saint Luke's Acts of the Apostles. It is widely considered that, of all the founders of the Church, Saint Paul was the most brilliant and multidimensional, and possessed the broadest outlook. He was therefore the best equipped to spread Christianity into different lands and among different peoples.

Saint Paul and the Foundation of the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church as an institution came into existence when Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity and Rome became the Holy Roman Empire. This was a gigantic step on the road to the growth of Christianity and was built upon the work initiated by Saint Paul. Saint Paul had traveled to Rome to become a key figure in the efforts to establish the Church of Rome, which has since become the Roman Catholic Church we know today.

It was Saint Paul who brought about the concept of evangelism — the belief that only when the whole world was converted to Christianity would Jesus return, as prophesied in the Bible. Many centuries later, a major step in this direction was achieved with the creation of the Holy Roman Empire, as Rome then ruled most of the known world. In the early centuries after the death of Jesus Christ, a church was understood simply as a gathering of people around a bishop. The structured existence of institutional churches is a later development. These local churches gradually united and grouped around the larger and more prominent centers. The bishops of these larger centers also gradually became more prominent, and in this way the groupings of churches grew larger and developed their own rituals. Yet all of them can trace their origin and founding to Jesus and his Twelve Apostles — and Saint Paul makes this point explicitly in his opening lines of the letter to the Corinthians.

The Catholic Church also places heavy reliance on Saint Paul's concepts regarding salvation. The Church teaches that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all mankind, who gave up his life as atonement for the sins of humanity. This teaching is rooted in Paul's own words, which describe one God and one mediator between God and men — Jesus Christ himself — who gave himself as a ransom. On this foundation rests the belief that the Catholic Church, established by Jesus Christ through Saint Peter, is the true Church, and that membership in it is necessary for those who wish to benefit from Christ's sacrifice. Evidence of this will of Jesus Christ is found in many places throughout the New Testament.

References

Holy Roman Catholic Church. Retrieved from http://www.geocities.com/newworldorder_themovie/catholicchurch.html. Accessed 11/12/2004.

Lindas, Barnabas. Apostle Paul, Saint. Retrieved from Accessed 11/12/2004.

Outside the Catholic Church… no salvation. Retrieved from Accessed 12/11/2004.

Saint Paul: Apostle to the Gentiles — 67 (?) Retrieved from Accessed 11/12/2004.

St. Paul. Retrieved from Accessed 11/12/2004.

The Eastern Catholic FAQ. Retrieved from Accessed 11/12/2004.