01 — Foundations
The historical and ecclesial ground on which the witness of the Holy Apostle Paul (Saul of Tarsus, c. 5 – c. 64/67) stands: the man and his threefold formation — a Jew of the diaspora, a Roman citizen, a Greek-speaking native of a Hellenistic city — trained as a Pharisee yet at home in the wider Mediterranean world; and the first-century setting of synagogue, empire, and city into which the gospel went out through him. These files establish who Saul was before Damascus and what world he was born to evangelize.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
Paul is, by his own account, “a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee” (Phil. 3:5), and yet a citizen of Tarsus, “no mean city” (Acts 21:39), and a citizen of Rome by birth (Acts 22:28). This convergence of identities in one man is not incidental to his vocation but is the very instrument of it: the diaspora Jew who could argue Torah in a synagogue, reason with philosophers on the Areopagus, and appeal to Caesar’s tribunal was uniquely fitted to carry the gospel from Jerusalem to the nations. This section sets out his Jewish, Roman, and Hellenistic formation, his Pharisaic education, his trade as a tentmaker, and the social and religious world — synagogue networks, Roman roads, Greek cities — that made his mission possible.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Saul of Tarsus | The man before Damascus: his name and birthplace (Acts 21:39; 22:3), his Pharisaic training “at the feet of Gamaliel” (Acts 22:3), his Roman citizenship by birth (Acts 22:28), his trade as a tentmaker (Acts 18:3), his persecution of the Church (Gal. 1:13; Acts 8:1–3), and what can and cannot be known of his early life. |
| The World of Paul | The first-century Mediterranean into which the gospel went: the Jewish diaspora and its synagogues, the Pax Romana with its roads and citizenship, the Greek city and its culture, and the religious ferment of the age — the network through which Paul’s mission moved. |
See Also
- The Damascus Road — the encounter that transformed the persecutor of this section into the apostle
- The Journeys — the mission that carried the gospel across the world described here
- Holy Scripture — the Pauline letters within the canon
- The Church Fathers — the tradition through which Paul is read
References
- The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version / King James Version. Acts of the Apostles; the Epistle to the Philippians; the Epistle to the Galatians.
- Eusebius of Caesarea. The Ecclesiastical History. Trans. Arthur C. McGiffert, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 1. 1890.
- Hengel, Martin. The Pre-Christian Paul. Trans. John Bowden. London: SCM Press, 1991.
- Murphy-O’Connor, Jerome. Paul: A Critical Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.