|  Article 3 — "Conversion" of St. Paulby Parishioner Ben CerimeleYear of St. Paul Article Links:The Year of St. Paul ArticlesArticle 3: "Conversion" of St. PaulThe primary sources covering Paul's conversion are his account given in Galatians 1:11-17, Luke's version reported in Acts 9:1-9, and Paul's defenses recorded in Acts 22:6-15 and 26:12-18. His later defense in the Roman court at Caesarea provides the most detailed rendition of Paul's conversion experience. The Galatians version speaks to Paul's "prophetic" calling and enlightenment by the post-mortem Jesus. Paul admits that he excelled in the study of the Jewish Law and that his zeal for the Law incited him to persecute the incipient Christian Church that he regarded as a Jewish sect in apostasy from the Mosaic covenant. Acts implicates him as a supporting witness in the stoning of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Subsequent to this act of complicity, Luke relates that Paul encountered a personal, traumatic, and life-altering revelation while on a journey to Damascus to arrest Jewish Christians — a revelation entailing an apocalyptic insight of the resurrected and glorified Jesus. With authorization through letters issued by the high priest Caiaphas, Paul was deputized to search for and imprison Jews who had succumbed to the Jesus movement. These letters were addressed to the leaders of the synagogues in Damascus that introduced Paul and sanctioned his arrest of Christian Jews. According to Luke's accounts, Paul is overwhelmed on the road to Damascus at mid-day by a powerful and dazzling flash of light that thrusts Paul and his traveling companions to the ground. Artistic tradition depicts Paul being struck down from a horse, but this is a detail not mentioned in the Scriptures. Although Paul is left blinded by the light flash, he experienced an internal illumination of the resurrected Jesus and heard the voice of Jesus in Aramaic questioning why he was persecuting Jesus; i.e., the Church of Jesus. In this personal epiphany Paul comes to recognize the identity of Jesus and to understand his universal plan of salvation. The blinded, yet enlightened, Paul is transported to Damascus where he is cured of his blindness, is baptized, and discerns his calling as a disciple and evangelist for Jesus. Paul experienced this apocalyptic revelation around 32-35 AD and spent the ensuing three years in Arabia in contemplation and prayer to prepare for his apostolate which he initiates upon returning to Damascus. Whereas Luke infers an immediate acceptance of Paul by the Jerusalem Church, Paul contends that he experienced several years of alienation from the Apostolic community in Jerusalem. Paul, himself, in referring to his transforming experience, never uses the term conversion, which implies shifting allegiance from one religion to another. He recognizes that the public manifestation of Jesus Christ rendered the fruition of Judaism — the culmination of the Mosaic covenant into the universal Christian covenant of love and grace. Paul believes that such culmination marks the end of all religious distinctions and contentions in anticipation of final times. Further Paul consistently speaks of God having "called" him –- set him apart before he was born for the service of God. Thus he emphasizes the connection between his commission and that of the Old Testament prophets. He was chosen by Jesus to spread the gospel to the West via Macedonia and Greece where he sowed the seeds of Christianity on European soil. It is surmised that Paul never met, heard, or saw the earthly Jesus. However, Paul claimed to be a witness to the resurrected Jesus and to be catechized directly by Jesus. Throughout his ministry Paul was faced with defending his credentials and his calling as the Apostle to the Gentiles while harboring an acute conviction of being the least worthy and most disreputable of the Apostles. The "conversion" of Paul is the only event in the lives of the saints that is universally commemorated in the Church as a feast day. The Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul is celebrated every year on January 25, which terminates the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Respectfully submitted, Ben Cerimele Contact InformationIf you wish to contact us on any articles, have any questions, you can initiate contact either by: |