History

Saint Paul:

St. Paul was largely responsible for the initial spread of Christianity to many Mediterranean countries. A Hellenistic Jew, born in Tarsus, Turkey, St. Paul is known worldwide as one of the earliest Christian missionaries, along with St. Peter and James the Just. Paul was born in Tarsus in 10AD and was originally named Saul. In his early years he participated in the persecution of Christians, taking part in the stoning of St. Stephen, the first Christian Martyr. Being momentarily blinded by the vision of the resurrected Christ along the road to Damascus, led Saul to convert. He was baptized as Paul and went to Arabia for three years of prayer and reflection. St. Paul, although not one of the original 12 apostles, is widely considered one of the most important first century apostles of Christ. In the mid-30s to mid-50sAD he founded several churches in Cyprus, Turkey, (called Asia Minor), mainland Greece, Crete and Rome.

Thirteen epistles in the New Testament have been credited to Paul. Many of them are credited to be absolutely genuine including Romans, First Corinthians, Second Corinthians, Galatians, First Thessalonians, and Philemon.