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"Three things last for ever: faith, hope and love; but the greatest of them all is love" St Paul, 1 Corinthians 13:13.
St Paul (d. prob. AD 62-65), is often referred to as "The Apostle to
the Gentiles". He was born during the first years of the Christian era. St Paul, originally "Saul"
was a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin and a native of Tarsus in Cilicia and said by Acts to possess Roman citizenship. He was
brought up a Pharisee and had a great trust in God, experience of the Law and a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, as well
as methods in arguing Scripture. Within a short time of Christ's Crucifixion, he came into contact with the new
"Way" of the followers of Jesus and persecuted the Church. Paul's conversion to Christianity can be dated
to around AD 33 on the road to Damascus. He remained in Damascus for a while after his Baptism. Later he went
to his native Tarsus, where he began to evangelize his own province until called by Barnabus to Antioch, and then Jerusalem.
Missionary journeys took him to Cyprus, Asia Minor, Phillipi, Thessalonica, Beroea, Athens and Corinth, Caesarea, Spain and
then to Rome where he was eventually imprisoned and martyred. St Paul's untiring interest in and affection for the
churches established by him have given us our canonical Epistles written by him. In his Epistles, St Paul shows himself
to be a profound religious thinker and he has had an enduring formative influence in the development of Christianity.
His feast day in the calendar of the Church year is June 29th.