In Christian theology and ecclesiology , the apostles , particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve ), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament . During the life and ministry of Jesus in the 1st century AD , the apostles were his closest followers and became the primary teachers of the gospel message of Jesus. There is also an Eastern Christian tradition derived from the Gospel of Luke that there were seventy apostles during the time of Jesus' ministry.
99-567: San Paolo (Italian for Saint Paul ) may refer to: Municipalities in Italy [ edit ] San Paolo, Lombardy , a municipality in Lombardy, Italy San Paolo Albanese , village and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Basilicata region of southern Italy San Paolo d'Argon , a municipality in Lombardy, Italy San Paolo Bel Sito ,
198-663: A tax collector in his booth. The tax collector, called Matthew in Matthew 9:9 , and Levi in Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27 , is asked by Jesus to become one of his disciples. Matthew/Levi is stated to have accepted and then invited Jesus for a meal with his friends. Tax collectors were seen as villains in Jewish society, and the Pharisees are described as asking Jesus why he is having a meal with such disreputable people. The reply Jesus gave
297-549: A Gentile, Greek audience, notably at Antioch, which had a large Jewish community and significant numbers of Gentile "God-fearers." From Antioch the mission to the Gentiles started, which would fundamentally change the character of the early Christian movement, eventually turning it into a new, Gentile religion. When a famine occurred in Judea , around 45–46, Paul and Barnabas journeyed to Jerusalem to deliver financial support from
396-568: A church in Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura , a church in Rome, Italy San Paolo della Croce , church in the suburbs of Rome, Italy San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno , church in Pisa, region of Tuscany, Italy San Paolo alle Tre Fontane , church in Rome, Italy Various [ edit ] Intesa Sanpaolo , bank of Turin and the major bank of Italy Stadio San Paolo ,
495-429: A light brighter than the sun shone around both him and those with him, causing all to fall to the ground, with the risen Christ verbally addressing Paul regarding his persecution in a vision. Having been made blind, along with being commanded to enter the city, his sight was restored three days later by Ananias of Damascus . After these events, Paul was baptized, beginning immediately to proclaim that Jesus of Nazareth
594-567: A meal with Gentile Christians in Antioch because they did not strictly adhere to Jewish customs. Writing later of the incident, Paul recounts, "I opposed [Peter] to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong", and says he told Peter, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew . How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs ?" Paul also mentions that even Barnabas, his traveling companion and fellow apostle until that time, sided with Peter. The outcome of
693-609: A minority view considers it may have been penned while he was imprisoned in Rome. Paul went through Macedonia into Achaea and stayed in Greece, probably Corinth, for three months during 56–57 AD. Commentators generally agree that Paul dictated his Epistle to the Romans during this period. He then made ready to continue on to Syria , but he changed his plans and traveled back through Macedonia, putatively because certain Jews had made
792-872: A municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region of Campania San Paolo d'Argon San Paolo di Civitate San Paolo di Jesi San Paolo Solbrito Churches [ edit ] San Paolo, Fiastra , a church in Fiastra, Marche, Italy San Paolo, Imbersago , a church in Imbersago, province of Lecco, region of Lombardy, Italy San Paolo, Mirabello , a church in Mirabello, Ferrara, Italy San Paolo, Parma , former convent in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy San Paolo, Pistoia ,
891-558: A plot against him. In Romans 15:19, Paul wrote that he visited Illyricum , but he may have meant what would now be called Illyria Graeca , which was at that time a division of the Roman province of Macedonia. On their way back to Jerusalem, Paul and his companions visited other cities such as Philippi , Troas , Miletus , Rhodes , and Tyre . Paul finished his trip with a stop in Caesarea , where he and his companions stayed with Philip
990-683: A revisionist (and minority) dating of 47/51 AD. The meeting is described in Acts 15:2 and usually seen as the same event mentioned by Paul in Galatians 2:1–10 The key question raised was whether Gentile converts needed to be circumcised. At this meeting, Paul states in his letter to the Galatians, Peter , James , and John accepted Paul's mission to the Gentiles. The Jerusalem meetings are mentioned in Acts, and also in Paul's letters. For example,
1089-520: A scholarly perspective by Daniel Wallace and Michael Burer. The "seventy disciples" or "seventy-two disciples" (known in the Eastern Christian traditions as the "Seventy Apostles") were early emissaries of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke . According to Luke, the only gospel in which they appear, Jesus appointed them and sent them out in pairs on a specific mission which is detailed in
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#17327768538881188-477: A servant girl, whose masters were then unhappy about the loss of income her soothsaying provided. They seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities and Paul and Silas were put in jail. After a miraculous earthquake, the gates of the prison fell apart and Paul and Silas could have escaped but remained; this event led to the conversion of the jailor. They continued traveling, going by Berea and then to Athens, where Paul preached to
1287-677: A stadium in Campania São Paulo , in Brazil San Paolo (isle) , small island on Lake Iseo in Brescia, Northern Italy San Paolo Island , small island near Taranto, part of the Cheradi Islands, Southern Italy See also [ edit ] San Paolo Apostolo (disambiguation) San Paolo Maggiore (disambiguation) Saint Paul (disambiguation) São Paulo (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
1386-422: A team with Simon and Andrew. Matthew states that at the time of the encounter, James and John were repairing their nets, but readily joined Jesus without hesitation. This parallels the accounts of Mark and Luke, but Matthew implies that the men have also abandoned their father (since he is present in the boat they abandon behind them), and Carter feels this should be interpreted to mean that Matthew's view of Jesus
1485-521: A validation of his teaching. Paul's narrative in Galatians states that 14 years after his conversion he went again to Jerusalem. It is not known what happened during this time, but both Acts and Galatians provide some details. At the end of this time, Barnabas went to find Paul and brought him to Antioch . The Christian community at Antioch had been established by Hellenised diaspora Jews living in Jerusalem, who played an important role in reaching
1584-439: Is called "Paul" for the first time on the island of Cyprus , much later than the time of his conversion. The author of Luke–Acts indicates that the names were interchangeable: "Saul, who also is called Paul." He refers to him as Paul through the remainder of Acts. This was apparently Paul's preference since he is called Paul in all other Bible books where he is mentioned, including those that he authored . Adopting his Roman name
1683-528: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Saint Paul Paul also named Saul of Tarsus , commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul , was a Christian apostle ( c. 5 – c. 64/65 AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world . For his contributions towards the New Testament , he
1782-640: Is generally regarded as one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age , and he also founded several Christian communities in Asia Minor and Europe from the mid-40s to the mid-50s AD. 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
1881-526: Is identified with the apostle James, son of Alphaeus . Two of the leading triumvirate, Peter and John, were additionally sent by Jesus into the city to make preparation for the final Passover meal (the Last Supper ), and were also the only two sent by the collective apostles to visit the newly converted believers in Samaria . If John is to be identified with the disciple whom Jesus loved , then it
1980-433: Is mentioned in Acts 23:16. In Romans 16:7, he states that his relatives, Andronicus and Junia , were Christians before he was and were prominent among the Apostles. The family had a history of religious piety. Apparently, the family lineage had been very attached to Pharisaic traditions and observances for generations. Acts says that he was an artisan involved in the leather crafting or tent-making profession. This
2079-493: Is now well known: "it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." The commissioning of the Twelve Apostles is an episode in the ministry of Jesus that appears in the three Synoptic Gospels. It relates the initial selection of the Twelve Apostles among the disciples of Jesus . In the Gospel of Matthew , this event takes place shortly before
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#17327768538882178-457: Is one of a figure rejecting the traditional patriarchal structure of society, where the father had command over his children; most scholars, however, just interpret it to mean that Matthew intended these two to be seen as even more devoted than the other pair, or that Jesus expected the imminent coming of the kingdom. The Synoptic Gospels go on to describe that later in Jesus' ministry he noticed
2277-548: Is pervasive", among that of many other apostles and missionaries involved in the spread of the Christian faith. Christians, notably in the Lutheran tradition, have classically read Paul as advocating for a law-free Gospel against Judaism. Polemicists and scholars likewise, especially during the early 20th century, have alleged that Paul corrupted or hijacked Christianity , often by introducing pagan or Hellenistic themes to
2376-617: Is said to have performed numerous miracles, healing people and casting out demons, and he apparently organized missionary activity in other regions. Paul left Ephesus after an attack from a local silversmith resulted in a pro- Artemis riot involving most of the city. During his stay in Ephesus, Paul wrote four letters to the church in Corinth. The letter to the church in Philippi is generally thought to have been written from Ephesus, though
2475-533: Is written in the book of Psalms , "Let his habitation be made desolate, Let no one dwell therein", and, "Let another take his office"... So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us, must become with us a witness to his resurrection. So, between the Ascension of Jesus and
2574-481: The Eastern Orthodox Church honours Andrew with the name Protokletos , which means "the first called". Despite Jesus only briefly requesting that they join him, they are all described as immediately consenting and abandoning their nets to do so. The immediacy of their consent has been viewed as an example of divine power, although this is not stated in the text. Another explanation is that some of
2673-509: The Gospel not from man, but directly by "the revelation of Jesus Christ". He claimed almost total independence from the Jerusalem community (possibly in the Cenacle ), but agreed with it on the nature and content of the gospel. He appeared eager to bring material support to Jerusalem from the various growing Gentile churches that he started. In his writings, Paul used the persecutions he endured to avow proximity and union with Jesus and as
2772-586: The Greek apóstolos ( ἀπόστολος ) – formed from the prefix apó- ( ἀπό- , 'from') and root stéllō ( στέλλω , 'I send, I depart') – originally meaning 'messenger, envoy'. It has, however, a stronger sense than the word messenger , and is closer to a 'delegate'. Mark 6:7–13 states that Jesus initially sent out these twelve in pairs ( cf. Mt 10:5–42 , Lk 9:1–6 ) to towns in Galilee . The text states that their initial instructions were to heal
2871-546: The Pauline epistles , Paul , although not one of the original twelve, described himself as an apostle, saying he was called by the resurrected Jesus himself during his road to Damascus event. He later describes himself as "an apostle to the Gentiles ". The period and associated events in timeline of early Christianity during the lifetimes of the twelve apostles is called the Apostolic Age . The term apostle comes from
2970-816: The Raising of Jairus' daughter , the Transfiguration , and the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane . At the time of the Early Christian Church as a leading trio among the apostles were recognized Peter, John and James, brother of Jesus , known collectively as the three Pillars of the Church . According to the tradition of the Catholic Church based on the writing of Jerome this James
3069-568: The Twelve Apostles , and did not know Jesus during his lifetime. According to the Acts, Paul lived as a Pharisee and participated in the persecution of early disciples of Jesus, possibly Hellenised diaspora Jews converted to Christianity, in the area of Jerusalem , before his conversion . Some time after having approved of the execution of Stephen , Paul was traveling on the road to Damascus so that he might find any Christians there and bring them "bound to Jerusalem". At midday,
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3168-525: The apostle of the Gentiles. According to Paul's account in his Epistle to the Galatians , James, Peter and John in Jerusalem accepted the "grace" given to Paul and agreed that Paul and Barnabas should go to the Gentiles (specifically those not circumcised ) and the three apostles who "seemed to be pillars" to the circumcised. Despite the Little Commission of Matthew 10 , the Twelve Apostles did not limit their mission to solely Jews as Cornelius
3267-469: The miracle of the man with a withered hand . In the gospels of Mark and of Luke, it appears shortly after that miracle. Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew
3366-541: The "Hebrews" and their continuing participation in the Temple cult. Paul's conversion to the movement of followers of Jesus can be dated to 31–36 AD by his reference to it in one of his letters . In Galatians 1:16, Paul writes that God "was pleased to reveal his son to me." In 1 Corinthians 15:8, as he lists the order in which Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, Paul writes, "last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also." According to
3465-535: The "longer ending" of Mark) and in Luke 24:9,33 . In Acts 1:26 they are "the eleven apostles", in Matthew 28:16 they are "the eleven disciples". When Jesus had been taken up from them, in preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit that he had promised them, Peter advised the brethren: Judas, who was guide to those who took Jesus... For he was numbered with us, and received his portion in this ministry... For it
3564-612: The Acts and the travels in his Epistles but not agreed upon fully by all Biblical scholars. Apostles in the New Testament The commissioning of the Twelve Apostles during the ministry of Jesus is described in the Synoptic Gospels . After his resurrection , Jesus sent eleven of them (as Judas Iscariot by then had died ) by the Great Commission to spread his teachings to all nations. In
3663-603: The Antioch community. According to Acts, Antioch had become an alternative center for Christians following the dispersion of the believers after the death of Stephen . It was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called "Christians". The author of Acts arranges Paul's travels into three separate journeys. The first journey, for which Paul and Barnabas were commissioned by the Antioch community, and led initially by Barnabas, took Barnabas and Paul from Antioch to Cyprus then into southern Asia Minor, and finally returning to Antioch. In Cyprus, Paul rebukes and blinds Elymas
3762-518: The Apostles recounts more information but leaves several parts of Paul's life out of its narrative, such as his probable but undocumented execution in Rome. The Acts of the Apostles also appear to contradict Paul's epistles on multiple matters, in particular concerning the frequency of Paul's visits to the church in Jerusalem . Sources outside the New Testament that mention Paul include: The two main sources of information that give access to
3861-467: The Apostles said that John Mark had left them in a previous trip and gone home. Unable to resolve the dispute, Paul and Barnabas decided to separate; Barnabas took John Mark with him, while Silas joined Paul. Paul and Silas initially visited Tarsus (Paul's birthplace), Derbe and Lystra . In Lystra, they met Timothy , a disciple who was spoken well of, and decided to take him with them. Paul and his companions, Silas and Timothy, had plans to journey to
3960-599: The Centurion is widely considered the first Gentile convert and he was converted by Peter, and the Great Commission of the resurrected Jesus is specifically to "all nations". As the Catholic Encyclopedia states, "It is at once evident that in a Christian sense, everyone who had received a mission from God, or Christ, to man could be called 'Apostle ' "; thus extending the original sense beyond
4059-434: The Church there. He then traveled north to Antioch, where he stayed for some time ( Ancient Greek : ποιήσας χρόνον τινὰ . Some New Testament texts suggest that he also visited Jerusalem during this period for one of the Jewish feasts, possibly Pentecost . Textual critic Henry Alford and others consider the reference to a Jerusalem visit to be genuine and it accords with Acts 21:29, according to which Paul and Trophimus
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4158-538: The Ephesian had previously been seen in Jerusalem. According to Acts, Paul began his third missionary journey by traveling all around the region of Galatia and Phrygia to strengthen, teach and rebuke the believers. Paul then traveled to Ephesus , an important center of early Christianity , and stayed there for almost three years, probably working there as a tentmaker, as he had done when he stayed in Corinth . He
4257-884: The Evangelist before finally arriving in Jerusalem. Among the writings of the early Christians, Pope Clement I said that Paul was "Herald (of the Gospel of Christ) in the West", and that "he had gone to the extremity of the west". Where Lightfoot 's translation has "had preached" below (in the "Church tradition" section), the Hoole translation has "having become a herald". John Chrysostom indicated that Paul preached in Spain: "For after he had been in Rome, he returned to Spain, but whether he came thence again into these parts, we know not". Cyril of Jerusalem said that Paul, "fully preached
4356-458: The Gospel, and instructed even imperial Rome, and carried the earnestness of his preaching as far as Spain, undergoing conflicts innumerable, and performing Signs and wonders". The Muratorian fragment mentions "the departure of Paul from the city [of Rome] [5a] (39) when he journeyed to Spain". The following table is adapted from the book From Jesus to Christianity by Biblical scholar L. Michael White , matching Paul's travels as documented in
4455-503: The Jerusalem visit for famine relief apparently corresponds to the "first visit" (to Peter and James only). F. F. Bruce suggested that the "fourteen years" could be from Paul's conversion rather than from his first visit to Jerusalem. Despite the agreement achieved at the Council of Jerusalem, Paul recounts how he later publicly confronted Peter in a dispute sometimes called the " Incident at Antioch ", over Peter's reluctance to share
4554-622: The Jews and God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue and to the Greek intellectuals in the Areopagus . Paul continued from Athens to Corinth . Around 50–52 AD, Paul spent 18 months in Corinth . The reference in Acts to Proconsul Gallio helps ascertain this date (cf. Gallio Inscription ). In Corinth, Paul met Priscilla and Aquila , who became faithful believers and helped Paul through his other missionary journeys. The couple followed Paul and his companions to Ephesus and stayed there to start one of
4653-462: The New Testament , published in 1997, a chronology of events in Paul's life is presented, illustrated from later 20th-century writings of biblical scholars . The first missionary journey of Paul is assigned a "traditional" (and majority) dating of 46–49 AD, compared to a "revisionist" (and minority) dating of after 37 AD. A vital meeting between Paul and the Jerusalem church took place in the year 49 AD by traditional (and majority) dating, compared to
4752-511: The Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas , then to the twelve" (1 Cor 15:3–5). If the first view is correct then Paul may be referring to a female apostle – the Greek name (Iounian) is in the accusative and could be either Junia (a woman) or Junias (a man). Later manuscripts add accents to make it unambiguously Junias; however, while "Junia"
4851-402: The Twelve Apostles are described as having been commissioned to preach the Gospel to "all the nations," regardless of whether Jew or Gentile . Paul emphasized the important role of the apostles in the church of God when he said that the household of God is "built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone." All four canonical Gospels record
4950-404: The account in the Acts of the Apostles, it took place on the road to Damascus , where he reported having experienced a vision of the ascended Jesus. The account says that "He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' He asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' The reply came, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting'." According to the account in Acts 9:1–22, he
5049-526: The apostles commissioned during the life of Jesus, Paul, a Jew also named Saul, claimed a special commission from the post-ascension Jesus as "the apostle of the Gentiles ", to spread the gospel message after his conversion . In his writings, the epistles to Christian churches throughout the Levant , Paul did not restrict the term "apostle" to the twelve, and often refers to his mentor Barnabas as an apostle. In his writings , Paul, although not one of
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#17327768538885148-595: The apostles. The Apostles' Creed , popular in the West , was alleged to have been composed by the apostles themselves. Bishops traced their lines of succession back to individual apostles, who were said to have dispersed from Jerusalem and established churches across great territories. Christian bishops have traditionally claimed authority deriving, by apostolic succession , from the Twelve Apostles. Early Church Fathers who came to be associated with apostles – such as Pope Clement I with St. Peter – are referred to as
5247-455: The area of Jerusalem . According to James Dunn , the Jerusalem community consisted of "Hebrews", Jews speaking both Aramaic and Greek, and "Hellenists", Jews speaking only Greek, possibly diaspora Jews who had resettled in Jerusalem. Paul's initial persecution of Christians probably was directed against these Greek-speaking "Hellenists" due to their anti-Temple attitude. Within the early Jewish Christian community, this also set them apart from
5346-476: The circumstances in which some of the disciples were recruited. According to the Gospel of John , Andrew , who was the disciple of John the Baptist , and another unnamed disciple of John the Baptist, traditionally believed to be John , upon hearing the Baptist point out Jesus as the "Lamb of God", followed Jesus and spent the day with him, thus becoming the first two disciples called by Jesus. For this reason
5445-604: The day of Pentecost , the remaining apostles elected a twelfth apostle by casting lots , a traditional Israelite way to determine the will of God (see Proverbs 16:33 ). The lot fell upon Matthias according to Acts 1:26 . Paul the Apostle, in his First Epistle to the Corinthians , appears to give the first historical reference to the Twelve Apostles: "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with
5544-487: The disciples may have heard of Jesus beforehand, as implied by the Gospel of John, which states that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist , and that he and his brother started following Jesus as soon as Jesus had been baptized . Matthew describes Jesus meeting James and John, also fishermen and brothers, very shortly after recruiting Simon and Andrew. Matthew and Mark identify James and John as sons of Zebedee . Luke adds to Matthew and Mark that James and John worked as
5643-440: The earliest segments of Paul's career are the Acts of the Apostles and the autobiographical elements of Paul's letters to the early Christian communities. Paul was likely born between the years of 5 BC and 5 AD. The Acts of the Apostles indicates that Paul was a Roman citizen by birth, but Helmut Koester took issue with the evidence presented by the text. Some have suggested that Paul's ancestors may have been freedmen from among
5742-521: The early church. There has since been increasing acceptance of Paul as a fundamentally Jewish figure in line with the original disciples in Jerusalem over past misinterpretations, manifested though movements like "Paul Within Judaism". Paul's Jewish name was "Saul" ( Hebrew : שָׁאוּל , Modern : Sha'ûl , Tiberian : Šā'ûl ), perhaps after the biblical King Saul ,
5841-580: The father of both James, son of Alphaeus and Matthew is named Alphaeus , according to the tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church the two were brothers as well. According to the tradition of the Catholic Church based on the writing of the Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis the apostles James, son of Alphaeus , and Thaddaeus were brothers and sons of Alphaeus (named also Clopas ) and his wife Mary of Clopas who
5940-591: The first king of Israel and, like Paul, a member of the Tribe of Benjamin ; the Latin name Paulus, meaning small, was not a result of his conversion as is commonly believed but a second name for use in communicating with a Greco-Roman audience. According to the Acts of the Apostles , he was a Roman citizen . As such, he bore the Latin name Paulus , which translates in biblical Greek as Παῦλος ( Paulos ). It
6039-462: The first Apostle to die in c. AD 44 is described in the New Testament . ( Acts 12:1–2 ) Matthew 27:5 says that Judas Iscariot threw the silver he received for betraying Jesus down in the Temple, then went and hanged himself. Acts 1:18 says that he purchased a field, then "falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out". According to the 18th-century historian Edward Gibbon , early Christians (second half of
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#17327768538886138-424: The gospel does not present any elaboration of who these twelve actually were, and the author of the Gospel of John does not mention them all by name. There is also no separation of the terms "apostles" and "disciples" in John. According to the New Testament there were only two pairs of brothers among the Twelve Apostles: Peter and Andrew , the sons of Jonah, as well as James and John , the sons of Zebedee. Since
6237-432: The heavens (in 2 Corinthians 12 ) are the earliest first-person accounts that are extant of a Merkabah mystic in Jewish or Christian literature. Conversely, Timothy Churchill has argued that Paul's Damascus road encounter does not fit the pattern of Merkabah. According to Acts : And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God." And all who heard him were amazed and said, "Is not this
6336-409: The idea of a pseudonymous author for the disputed epistles raises many problems. 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 . Paul's influence on Christian thought and practice has been characterized as being as "profound as it
6435-429: The incident at Antioch is Paul's letter to the Galatians . Paul left for his second missionary journey from Jerusalem, in late Autumn 49 AD, after the meeting of the Council of Jerusalem where the circumcision question was debated. On their trip around the Mediterranean Sea, Paul and his companion Barnabas stopped in Antioch where they had a sharp argument about taking John Mark with them on their trips. The Acts of
6534-504: The incident remains uncertain. The Catholic Encyclopedia suggests that Paul won the argument, because "Paul's account of the incident leaves no doubt that Peter saw the justice of the rebuke". However, Paul himself never mentions a victory, and L. Michael White 's From Jesus to Christianity draws the opposite conclusion: "The blowup with Peter was a total failure of political bravado, and Paul soon left Antioch as persona non grata , never again to return". The primary source account of
6633-443: The magician who was criticizing their teachings. They sailed to Perga in Pamphylia . John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas went on to Pisidian Antioch . On Sabbath they went to the synagogue. The leaders invited them to speak. Paul reviewed Israelite history from life in Egypt to King David. He introduced Jesus as a descendant of David brought to Israel by God. He said that his group had come to bring
6732-449: The man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?" But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. After his conversion, Paul went to Damascus , where Acts 9 states he was healed of his blindness and baptized by Ananias of Damascus. Paul says that it
6831-406: The message of salvation. He recounted the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. He quoted from the Septuagint to assert that Jesus was the promised Christos who brought them forgiveness for their sins. Both the Jews and the " God-fearing " Gentiles invited them to talk more next Sabbath. At that time almost the whole city gathered. This upset some influential Jews who spoke against them. Paul used
6930-434: The most influential cities in Asia Minor since the time of Alexander the Great , who died in 323 BC. Paul referred to himself as being "of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin , a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee ". The Bible reveals very little about Paul's family. Acts quotes Paul referring to his family by saying he was "a Pharisee, born of Pharisees". Paul's nephew, his sister's son,
7029-642: The name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who
7128-454: The occasion to announce a change in his mission which from then on would be to the Gentiles. Antioch served as a major Christian home base for Paul's early missionary activities, and he remained there for "a long time with the disciples" at the conclusion of his first journey. The exact duration of Paul's stay in Antioch is unknown, with estimates ranging from nine months to as long as eight years. In Raymond E. Brown 's An Introduction to
7227-440: The original twelve, described himself as an apostle . He was called by the resurrected Jesus himself during his Road to Damascus event. With Barnabas, he undertook the role of apostle in the church. Since Paul claimed to have received a gospel not from teachings of the Twelve Apostles but solely and directly through personal revelations from the post-ascension Jesus, after Jesus's death and resurrection (rather than before like
7326-662: The remainder. Pauline authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews is not asserted in the Epistle itself and was already doubted in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. It was almost unquestioningly accepted from the 5th to the 16th centuries that Paul was the author of Hebrews, but that view is now almost universally rejected by scholars. 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. Other scholars argue that
7425-570: The same four apostles in each group. Each group is always led by the same apostle, although the order of the remaining three names within the group varies. Thus, Peter is always listed first, Philip is always listed fifth, and James, son of Alphaeus is always listed ninth. Judas Iscariot is always listed last. Unlike the Synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John does not offer a formal list of apostles. Although it refers to "the Twelve",
7524-415: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title San Paolo . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Paolo&oldid=1258577517 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
7623-457: The second century and first half of the third century) believed that only Peter, Paul, and James, son of Zebedee, were martyred. The remainder, or even all, of the claims of martyred apostles do not rely upon historical or biblical evidence, but only on late legends. Relics of the apostles are claimed by various churches, many in Europe. By the 2nd century AD , association with the apostles
7722-413: The sick and drive out demons . They are also instructed to "take nothing for their journey, except a staff only: no bread, no wallet, no money in their purse, but to wear sandals, and not put on two tunics ," and that if any town rejects them they ought to shake the dust off their feet as they leave, a gesture which some scholars think was meant as a contemptuous threat. Later in the Gospel narratives,
7821-410: The southwest portion of Asia Minor to preach the gospel but during the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him to go to Macedonia to help them. After seeing the vision, Paul and his companions left for Macedonia to preach the gospel to them. The Church kept growing, adding believers, and strengthening in faith daily. In Philippi , Paul cast a spirit of divination out of
7920-449: The strongest and most faithful churches at that time. In 52, departing from Corinth, Paul stopped at the nearby village of Cenchreae to have his hair cut off, because of a vow he had earlier taken. It is possible this was to be a final haircut before fulfilling his vow to become a Nazirite for a defined period of time. With Priscilla and Aquila, the missionaries then sailed to Ephesus and then Paul alone went on to Caesarea to greet
8019-512: The supervision of Gamaliel in Jerusalem, he was not preparing to become a scholar of Jewish law, and probably never had any contact with the Hillelite school. Some of his family may have resided in Jerusalem since later the son of one of his sisters saved his life there. Nothing more is known of his biography until he takes an active part in the martyrdom of Stephen , a Hellenised diaspora Jew. Some modern scholarship argues that while Paul
8118-477: The tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve:[b] Simon (to whom he gave
8217-521: The text. In Western Christianity , they are usually referred to as disciples , whereas in Eastern Christianity they are usually referred to as apostles. Using the original Greek words , both titles are descriptive, as an apostle is one sent on a mission (the Greek uses the verb form: apesteilen ) whereas a disciple is a student, but the two traditions differ on the scope of the words apostle and disciple . Although not one of
8316-598: The thousands of Jews whom Pompey took as slaves in 63 BC , which would explain how he was born into Roman citizenship , as slaves of Roman citizens gained citizenship upon emancipation. He was from a devout Jewish family based in the city of Tarsus , which had been made part of the Roman Province of Syria by the time of Paul's adulthood. Tarsus was of the larger centers of trade on the Mediterranean coast and renowned for its academy , it had been among
8415-453: The twelve), Paul was often obliged to defend his apostolic authority ( 1 Cor. 9:1 "Am I not an apostle?" ) and proclaim that he had seen and was anointed by Jesus while on the road to Damascus. Paul considered himself perhaps inferior to the other apostles because he had originally persecuted Christ's followers while thinking he was not in the least inferior to those "super-apostles" and not lacking in "knowledge". Paul referred to himself as
8514-424: The twelve. Of the Twelve Apostles to hold the title after Matthias' selection, Christian tradition has generally passed down that all of the Twelve Apostles except John were martyred . It is traditionally believed that John survived all of them, living to old age and dying of natural causes at Ephesus sometime after AD 98, during the reign of Trajan . However, only the death of his brother James who became
8613-410: Was a common name, "Junias" was not, and both options are favored by different Bible translations. In the second view, it is believed that Paul is simply making mention of the outstanding character of these two people which was acknowledged by the apostles. Historically it has been virtually impossible to tell which of the two views were correct. The second view, in recent years, has been defended from
8712-472: Was also only Peter and John who followed behind Jesus after his capture in the Garden of Gethsemane , and who ran to the empty tomb after Mary Magdalene bore witness to the resurrection of Jesus . After Judas betrayed Jesus (and then in guilt committed suicide before Christ's resurrection , one Gospel recounts), the apostles numbered eleven. The group is referred to as "the eleven" in Mark 16:14 (part of
8811-533: Was blinded for three days and had to be led into Damascus by the hand. During these three days, Saul took no food or water and spent his time in prayer to God. When Ananias of Damascus arrived, he laid his hands on him and said: "Brother Saul, the Lord, [even] Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost." His sight
8910-516: Was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. Each of the four listings of apostles in the New Testament indicate that all the apostles were men. The canonical gospels and the book of Acts give varying names of the Twelve Apostles. The list in the Gospel of Luke differs from Matthew and Mark on one point. It lists "Judas, the son of James" instead of "Thaddaeus". All listings appear in three groupings, always with
9009-532: Was esteemed as an evidence of authority. Churches that are believed to have been founded by one of the apostles are known as apostolic sees . Paul's epistles were accepted as scripture , and two of the four canonical gospels were associated with apostles, as were other New Testament works. Various Christian texts, such as the Didache and the Apostolic Constitutions , were attributed to
9108-551: Was fluent in Koine Greek , the language he used to write his letters, his first language was probably Aramaic . In his letters, Paul drew heavily on his knowledge of Stoic philosophy , using Stoic terms and metaphors to assist his new Gentile converts in their understanding of the Gospel and to explain his Christology. Paul says that before his conversion , he persecuted early Christians "beyond measure", more specifically Hellenised diaspora Jewish members who had returned to
9207-701: Was in Damascus that he barely escaped death. Paul also says that he then went first to Arabia, and then came back to Damascus. Paul's trip to Arabia is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, although it has been theorized that he traveled to Mount Sinai for meditations in the desert. He describes in Galatians how three years after his conversion he went to Jerusalem . There he met James and stayed with Simon Peter for 15 days. Paul located Mount Sinai in Arabia in Galatians 4:24–25. Paul asserted that he received
9306-659: Was restored, he got up and was baptized. This story occurs only in Acts, not in the Pauline epistles. The author of the Acts of the Apostles may have learned of Paul's conversion from the church in Jerusalem , or from the church in Antioch , or possibly from Paul himself. According to Timo Eskola, early Christian theology and discourse was influenced by the Jewish Merkabah tradition. John Bowker , Alan Segal and Daniel Boyarin have variously argued that Paul's accounts of his conversion experience and his ascent to
9405-644: Was the Jewish messiah and the Son of God . He made three missionary journeys to spread the Christian message to non-Jewish communities in Asia Minor , the Greek provinces of Achaia , Macedonia , and Cyprus , as well as Judea and Syria , as narrated in the Acts. Fourteen of the 27 books in the New Testament have traditionally been attributed to Paul. Seven of the Pauline epistles are undisputed by scholars as being authentic , with varying degrees of argument about
9504-468: Was the sister of the mother of Jesus . The Golden Legend , compiled by Jacobus de Voragine in the 13th century, adds to the two apostles also Simon the Zealot . Peter , James son of Zebedee , and James's brother John formed an informal triumvirate among the Twelve Apostles in the Gospels . Jesus invited them to be the only apostles present on three notable occasions during his public ministry:
9603-413: Was to become an initial connection with Priscilla and Aquila , with whom he would partner in tentmaking and later become very important teammates as fellow missionaries. While he was still fairly young, he was sent to Jerusalem to receive his education at the school of Gamaliel , one of the most noted teachers of Jewish law in history. Although modern scholarship accepts that Paul was educated under
9702-503: Was typical for the Jews of that time to have two names: one Hebrew, the other Latin or Greek. Jesus called him "Saul, Saul" in "the Hebrew tongue" in the Acts of the Apostles, when he had the vision which led to his conversion on the road to Damascus. Later, in a vision to Ananias of Damascus , "the Lord" referred to him as "Saul, of Tarsus". When Ananias came to restore his sight, he called him "Brother Saul". In Acts 13:9 , Saul
9801-426: Was typical of Paul's missionary style. His method was to put people at ease and approach them with his message in a language and style that was relatable to them, as he did in 1 Corinthians 9 :19–23 . The main source for information about Paul's life is the material found in his epistles and in the Acts of the Apostles. However, the epistles contain little information about Paul's pre-conversion past. The Acts of
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