Article 4: The Conversion of St. Paul Article 5: The Significance of Sts. Peter & Paul

 Who was this man, Paul, before his conversion, and what was he up to?  Acts 8:3 “Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.”  What do we call this action against early Christians?

 Something dramatic happened to Saul:  Acts 9: 3-6 “As he was nearing Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He said, “Who are you, sir?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.”

 Saul was blinded by this encounter.  In Damascus, at the instruction of Jesus, a man named Ananias found Saul, laid his hands on him, and Saul regained his sight.  After this experience, Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit and was baptized. The one time persecutor was now a believer.  Saul took the Roman name Paul.

 Paul’s conversion was one of the most significant events in the early Church.  He would become known as the Apostle to the Gentiles, but in the beginning this was not so.  At first, Paul preached to the Jews, but when he was rejected by them, he turned his attention to the Gentiles.  His letters and teachings would ultimately reach the ends of the Roman Empire.

 After Paul began preaching to the Gentiles, they began to break bread in their homes and form Christian communities just as the Jewish believers had done.  While this pleased the Jewish Christians, it also upset them because the Gentile Christians did not follow Jewish traditions.  Jewish Christians believed that the Gentiles should have to follow Jewish customs, such as circumcision, in order to follow Jesus.

 The Counsel of Jerusalem is the first counsel of the Church. What was the most recent?  Around 50 AD, Paul met with the Apostles and other leaders in Jerusalem to discuss the matter of Gentiles and Jewish Law.  Both sides of the issue were debated and Peter, in his role as the leader of all, after listening to all that was said weighed in on the matter.  What was the solution?

 Peter addressed the assembly and said it was clear that the Gentile converts had also received the Holy Spirit.  If this was the case, then God had made no distinction between Gentile and Jew.  Therefore, the Jewish Christians should not place a heavy burden on the Gentiles.  The Apostle James came up with a basic set of Jewish rules that all agreed on for the Gentiles: avoid pollution from idols, unlawful marriage, meat of strangled animals, and blood.

 Peter and Paul are often called “pillars of the Church” because from the beginning they held it up and carried its weight just as pillars do for a building.  They share their Feast Day – June 29  In Christian artwork and icons, they are often featured together.

 It is estimated that Paul’s journeys to convert the Gentiles covered some 15,000 miles by land and see (see map pg 27 of text)  After he had established a church in a city, Paul would keep in touch with the community by writing letters to instruct and encourage the new Christians.  We still read these letters today at Mass, and they make up a sizable part of the New Testament.

 Many early writings show that Peter was clearly the leader of the early church, as shown by his actions at the Counsel of Jerusalem.  A pivotal event for Peter’s gradual realization (with the help of the Holy Spirit) that the Gentiles should be welcomed into the church.  Through his actions and teachings, he led the Church as its first Pope.  Peter and Paul were both martyred in Rome in separate events. Peter was crucified; Paul beheaded.