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St. Paul the Apostle
St. Paul, by El Greco
Apostle to the Gentiles, Martyr
Born	year unknown  in Tarsus
Died	A.D. 64-67   in Rome during Nero's Persecution
Canonized	pre-congregation
Major shrine	Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
Feast	January 25 (The Conversion of Paul) February 10 (Feast of Saint Paul's Shipwreck in Malta) June 29 (Feast of Saints Peter and Paul) November 18 (Feast of the dedication of the basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul)
Attributes	sword

St. Paul the Apostle (year of birth unknown, died A.D. 64-67) (Template:Lang-he), the "Apostle to the Gentiles" (Romans 11:13, Galatians 2:8) was, together with Saint Peter, the most notable of Early Christian missionaries. In the New Testament account, Paul did not know Jesus in life, unlike the Twelve Apostles; he came to faith through a vision of the risen Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:8–9) and stressed that his apostolic authority was based on his vision. As he wrote, he "received it by revelation from Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11–12); according to Acts, his conversion took place as he was traveling the road to Damascus.

Fourteen epistles in the New Testament are traditionally attributed to Paul. He is presented in these writings as employing an amanuensis, only occasionally writing himself (Gal 6:11, Rom 16:22, 1 Cor 16:21, Col 4:18, 2 Thess 3:17, Phil 1:19). As a sign of authenticity, the writers of these epistles (2 Thess 2:2; 3:17) sometimes employ a passage presented as being in Paul's own handwriting. These epistles were circulated within the Christian community, they were prominent in the first New Testament canon ever proposed (by Marcion), and they were eventually included in the orthodox Christian canon. They are the earliest-written books of the New Testament.

Paul's influence on Christian thinking arguably has been more significant than any other single New Testament author. His influence on the main strands of Christian thought has been massive: from St. Augustine of Hippo to the controversies between Gottschalk and Hincmar of Reims; between Thomism and Molinism; Martin Luther, John Calvin and the Arminians; to Jansenism and the Jesuit theologians, and even to the German church of the twentieth century through the writings of the scholar Karl Barth, whose commentary on the Letter to the Romans had a political as well as theological impact.

Sources of information

In trying to reconstruct the events of Paul's life, the primary sources are Paul's own letters and the Acts of the Apostles, traditionally attributed to St. Luke. Different views are held as to the reliability of the latter. Some scholars, such as Hans Conzelmann and twentieth-century theologian John Knox, dispute the historical content of Acts. Even allowing for omissions in Paul's own account, which is found particularly in Galatians, there are many differences between his account and that in Acts. (Please see the full discussion in Acts of the Apostles). The Acts of Paul and the Clementine literature also contain information about Paul.

Early life

According to Acts, Paul was born in Tarsus, Cilicia in Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey, under the name Saul, "an Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the eighth day" (Philippians 3:5). However, Paul's own letters never mention this as his birthplace, nor is the name "Saul" alluded to. Acts records that Paul was a Roman citizen — a privilege he used a number of times in his defence, appealing against convictions in Judaea to Rome (Acts 22:25 and Acts 27–29). According to Acts 22:3, he studied in Jerusalem under the Rabbi Gamaliel, well known in Paul's time. He described himself as a Pharisee (Acts 23:6). He supported himself during his travels and while preaching — a fact he alludes to a number of times (e.g., 1 Cor. 9:13–15). According to Acts 18:3 he worked as a tentmaker.

He first appears in the pages of the New Testament as a witness to the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:57–8:3). He was, as he described himself, a persistent persecutor of the Church (1 Corinthians 15:9, Galatians 1:13) (almost all of whose members were Jewish or Jewish proselytes), until his experience on the Road to Damascus which resulted in his conversion.

Paul himself is very reticent about the precise character of his conversion (Galatians 1:11–24) though he uses it as authority for his independence from the apostles. In Acts there are three accounts of his conversion experience:

• The first is a description of the event itself (Acts 9:1–20) in which he is described as falling to the ground, as a result of a flash of light from the sky, hearing the words "Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?"
• The second is Paul's witness to the event before the crowd in Jerusalem (Acts 22:1–22).
• The third is his testimony before King Agrippa II (Acts 26:1–24).

In the accounts, he is described as being led, blinded by the light, to Damascus where his sight was restored by a disciple called Ananias and he was baptized.

Mission

Following his stay in Damascus after his conversion, where he was baptized, Paul says that he first went to Arabia, and then came back to Damascus (Galatians 1:17). According to Acts, his preaching in the local synagogues got him into trouble there, and he was forced to escape, being let down over the wall in a basket (Acts 9:23). He describes in Galatians, how three years after his conversion, he went to Jerusalem, where he met James, and stayed with Simon Peter for fifteen days (Galatians 1:13–24). According to Acts, he apparently attempted to join the disciples and was accepted only owing to the intercession of Barnabas — they were all understandably afraid of him as one who had been a persecutor of the Church (Acts 9:26–27). Again, according to Acts, he got into trouble for disputing with "Hellenists" (Greek speaking Jews and Gentile "God-fearers") and so he was sent back to Tarsus.

Paul's narrative in Galatians states that fourteen years after his conversion he went again to Jerusalem. We do not know exactly what happened during these so-called "unknown years," but both Acts and Galatians provide some details. At the end of this time, Barnabas went to find Paul and brought him back to Antioch (Acts 11:26).

When a famine occurred in Judaea, around 45–46, Paul, along with Barnabas and a Gentile named Titus, journeyed to Jerusalem to deliver financial support from the Antioch community. According to Acts, Antioch had become an alternative centre for Christians, following the dispersion after the death of Stephen. It was at this time in Antioch, Acts reports, the followers of Jesus were first called "Christians."

First missionary journey

Paul’s first missionary journey begins in Acts 13 in the post-resurrection Syrian city of Antioch in approximately A.D 47. During this period the Christian church here grew in prominence partially due to Jewish Christians fleeing from Jerusalem. The Gentile audience that Luke is writing Acts to is introduced to five prophets and teachers during a time of worship, prayer and fasting. After ministering to the Lord, the Holy Spirit speaking through one of the prophets listed in Acts 13:1 identifies Barnabas and Saul to be appointed “for the work which I have called them to.” The group then lays hands on the pair to release them from the church to spread the Gospel into the predominantly Gentile mission field. The significance of the Holy Spirit selecting him can be seen in Galatians 1:1 when Paul states that he is made an apostle “not through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father.”

Traveling via the port of Selucia, Barnabas and Saul’s initial destination is the island of Cyprus of which Barnabas had intimate knowledge about as he grew up there Acts 4:36. Preaching throughout the island, it is not until reaching the last city of Paphos that they meet the magician and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, described by Luke as “full of deceit and all fraud”. This provides a good dichotomy to the account of the Roman ruler Sergius Paulus as “an intelligent man” and illustrates to the Hellenists the intelligence of the belief in Jesus Christ. The two rebuke the magician causing him to become blind and upon seeing this Sergius Paulus is astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Once having left Cyprus, Saul exchanges his Hebrew name for the more appropriate Greco-Roman name of Paul for ministering to the Gentiles. It is also here that their helper John Mark departs them for no specified reason, although this is a source of much tension that the issue later causes Paul and Barnabas to split in Acts 15:36–41. The two then set about strategically preaching to major cities as they make their way across the provinces of Asia Minor. A noticeable pattern begins to develop: after successfully speaking to the people in an area, the local Jews become apprehensive resulting in hostility which eventually forces them to move on.

An example of this can be seen in Antioch of Pisidia. Paul’s preaching in the local synagogue spreads quickly to ensure that almost the entire city turns out to hear him speak the following week. So radical is Paul’s message of salvation for both Jews and Gentiles through the justification of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the two are expelled from the city by the jealous Jewish chief men of the city. Likewise in the subsequent city of Iconium their message splits the town population in two. This resistance, however, causes the pair to become even more determined, stating that they “stay there a long time boldly preaching the gospel.” Ultimately they are compelled to flee due to rising Jewish violence against them.

Traveling on to Lystra where no mention is made of any God fearing gentiles, we can assume that there was most likely no synagogue here. With no formal place to preach in they come across a man who has been crippled from birth. Seeing that the man has faith enough to be healed at the instruction of Paul he gets up and walks. The Greek verb used for faith here can also mean "faith to be saved" which fittingly summarises Paul’s message of salvation. In spite of this the Lystrians are now convinced that the two are the human incarnation of Zeus and Hermes and proceed to sacrifice oxen before them. Paul and Barnabas are so distraught at this that they tear off their clothes and cry out to the people. The implication of this is twofold: both to show the people that they to are mortals and that materialistic possessions such as clothes and hence all idolatrous worship of inanimate objects is meaningless. Pleading with the crowd, the style of preaching becomes more basic as Lystra has no knowledge of God. Paul starts from the basics by stating that God is a living God who made the heavens, earth and seas (Acts 14:15).

Paul is then hunted by disgruntled Jews from Antioch and Iconium and is stoned to the point where he is thought to be dead. Amazingly he gets to his feet and flees to Derbe and preaches the word there. He then opts to return to the cities he visited to encourage disciples, establish churches and appoint elders. The Greek term ‘appointed’ means to approve by congregational vote as shown in the Didache. This emphasis on the role of the whole church is strengthened once at home in Antioch where he finally gathers together the unified church to report to them on all his experiences. Here he summarises the aim of his journey well, to “give God the honor and the glory” (Acts 15:4)

"Council of Jerusalem"

According to Acts 15, Paul attended a meeting of the apostles and elders held at Jerusalem at which they discussed the question of circumcision of Gentile Christians and whether Christians should follow the Mosaic law. Traditionally, this meeting is called the Council of Jerusalem, though nowhere is it called so in the text of the New Testament. Paul and the apostles apparently met at Jerusalem several times. Unfortunately, there is some difficulty in determining the sequence of the meetings and exact course of events. Some Jerusalem meetings are mentioned in Acts, some meetings are mentioned in Paul's letters, and some appear to be mentioned in both. For example, it has been suggested that the Jerusalem visit for famine relief implied in Acts 11:27–30 corresponds to the "first visit" (to Cephas and James only) narrated in Galatians 1:18–20. In Galatians 2:1, Paul describes a "second visit" to Jerusalem as a private occasion, whereas Acts 15 describes a public meeting in Jerusalem addressed by James at its conclusion. Thus, while most think that Galatians 2:1 corresponds to the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, others think that Paul is referring here to the meeting in Acts 11 (the "famine visit"). Many other conjectures have been offered: the "fourteen years" could be from Paul's conversion rather than the first visit; or "fourteen years" should be "four"; or Acts 11 and 15 are two alternative accounts of the same visit; or the visit is recorded in Acts 18:22. If there was a public rather than a private meeting, it seems likely that it took place after Galatians was written.

According to Acts, Paul and Barnabas were appointed to go to Jerusalem to speak with the apostles and elders and were welcomed by them. The key question raised (in both Acts and Galatians and which is not in dispute) was whether Gentile converts needed to be circumcised (Acts 15:2ff; Galatians 2:1ff). Paul states that he had attended "in response to a revelation and to lay before them the gospel that I preached among the Gentiles" (Galatians 2:2). Peter publicly reaffirmed a decision he had made previously (Acts 10–11), proclaiming: " put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9), echoing an earlier statement: "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). James concurred: "We should not trouble those of the Gentiles who are turning to God" (Acts 15:19–21), and a letter (later known as the Apostolic Decree) was sent back with Paul enjoining them from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality (Acts 15:29), which some consider to be Noahide Law.

Despite the agreement they achieved at the meeting as understood by Paul, Paul recounts how he later publicly confronted Peter (accusing him of Judaizing), also called the "Incident at Antioch" over his reluctance to share a meal with Gentile Christians in Antioch. Paul later wrote: "I opposed to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong" and said to the apostle: "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?" (Galatians 2:11–14). Paul also mentioned that even Barnabas sided with Peter. On the incident, the Catholic Encyclopedia: Judaizers: The Incident at Antioch states: "St. Paul's account of the incident leaves no doubt that St. Peter saw the justice of the rebuke." However, L. Michael White's From Jesus to Christianity states: "The blowup with Peter was a total failure of political bravado, and Paul soon left Antioch as persona non grata, never again to return." (see also Pauline Christianity). Acts does not record this event, saying only that "some time later," Paul decided to leave Antioch (usually considered the beginning of his "Second Missionary Journey," (Acts 15:36–18:22) with the object of visiting the believers in the towns where he and Barnabas had preached earlier, but this time without Barnabas. At this point the Galatians witness ceases.

Paul's visits to Jerusalem in Acts and the epistles

This table is adapted from White, From Jesus to Christianity.

Second missionary journey

Following a dispute between Paul and Barnabas over whether they should take John Mark with them, they went on separate journeys (Acts 15:36–41) — Barnabas with John Mark, and Paul with Silas.

Following Acts 16:1–18:22, Paul and Silas went to Derbe and then Lystra. They were joined by Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman and a Greek man. According to Acts 16:3, Paul circumcised Timothy before leaving.

They continued to Phrygia and northern Galatia to Troas, when, inspired by a vision they set off for Macedonia. At Philippi they met and brought to faith a wealthy woman named Lydia, they then baptized her and her household; there Paul was also arrested and badly beaten. According to Acts, Paul then set off for Thessalonica. This accords with Paul's own account (1 Thessalonians 2:2), though some question how, having been in Philippi only "some days," Paul could have founded a church based on Lydia's house; it may have been founded earlier by someone else. According to Acts, Paul then came to Athens where he gave his speech in the Areopagus; in this speech, he told Athenians that the "Unknown God" to whom they had a shrine was in fact known, as the God who had raised Jesus from the dead. (Acts 17:16–34)

Thereafter Paul traveled to Corinth, where he settled for three years and where he may have written 1 Thessalonians which is estimated to have been written in 50 or 51. At Corinth, (Acts 18:12–17) the "Jews united" and charged Paul with "persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law"; the proconsul Gallio then judged that it was an internal religious dispute and dismissed the charges. "Then all of them (Other ancient authorities read all the Greeks) seized Sosthenes, the official of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of these things." From an inscription in Delphi that mentions Gallio held office from 51–52 or 52–53, the year of the hearing must have been in this time period, which is the only fixed date in the chronology of Paul's life.

Third missionary journey

Following this hearing, Paul continued his preaching, usually called his "third missionary journey" (Acts 18:23–21:26), traveling again through Asia Minor and Macedonia, to Antioch and back. He caused a great uproar in the theatre in Ephesus, where local silversmiths feared loss of income due to Paul's activities. Their income relied on the sale of silver statues (idols) of the goddess Artemis, whom they worshipped; the resulting mob almost killed Paul (Acts 19:21–41) and his companions. Later, as Paul was passing near Ephesus on his way to Jerusalem, Paul chose not to stop, since he was in haste to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost. The church here, however, was so highly regarded by Paul that he called the elders to Miletus to meet with him (Acts 20:16–38).

Arrest and death

According to Acts 21:17–26, upon his arrival in Jerusalem, the Apostle Paul provided a detailed account to the elders regarding his ministry among the Gentiles, which they were pleased to receive. Afterward the elders informed him of rumors that had been circulating, which stated that he was teaching Jews to forsake observance of the Mosaic law, and the customs of the Jews; including circumcision. To rebut these rumors, the elders asked Paul to join with four other men in performing the vow of purification according to Mosaic law, in order to disprove the accusations of the Jews. Paul agreed, and proceeded to perform the vow. See Also: Relationship with Judaism

Some of the Jews had seen Paul accompanied by a Gentile, and assumed that he had brought the Gentile into the temple, which if he had been found guilty of such, would have carried the death penalty. The Jews were on the verge of killing Paul when Roman soldiers intervened. The Roman commander took Paul into custody to be scourged and questioned, and imprisoned him, first in Jerusalem, and then in Caesarea.

Paul claimed his right as a Roman citizen to be tried in Rome, but owing to the inaction of the governor; Antonius Felix, Paul languished in confinement at Caesarea for two years. When a new governor; Porcius Festus took office, Paul was sent by sea to Rome. During this trip to Rome, Paul was shipwrecked on Malta, where Acts states that he preached the Gospel, and the people converted to Christianity. The Roman Catholic church has named the Apostle Paul as the patron saint of Malta in observance of his work there. It is thought that Paul continued his journey by sea to Syracuse, on the Italian island of Sicily before eventually going to Rome. According to Acts 28:30–31, Paul spent another two years in Rome under house arrest, where he continued to preach the gospel and teach about Jesus being the Christ.

Of his detention in Rome, Philippians provides some additional support. It was clearly written from prison and references to the "praetorian guard" and "Caesar's household," which may suggest that it was written from Rome.

Whether Paul died in Rome, or was able to go to Spain as he had hoped, as noted in his letter to the Romans (Romans 15:22–27), is uncertain. 1 Clement reports this about Paul:

"By reason of jealousy and strife Paul by his example pointed out the prize of patient endurance. After that he had been seven times in bonds, had been driven into exile, had been stoned, had preached in the East and in the West, he won the noble renown which was the reward of his faith, having taught righteousness unto the whole world and having reached the farthest bounds of the West; and when he had borne his testimony before the rulers, so he departed from the world and went unto the holy place, having been found a notable pattern of patient endurance."

Commenting on this passage, Raymond Brown writes that while it "does not explicitly say" that Paul was martyred in Rome, "such a martydom is the most reasonable interpretation."

Eusebius of Caesarea, who wrote in the fourth century, states that Paul was beheaded in the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero. This event has been dated either to the year 64, when Rome was devastated by a fire, or a few years later, to 67. A Roman catholic liturgical solemnity of Peter and Paul, celebrated on 29 June, may reflect the day of his martyrdom, other sources have articulated the tradition that Peter and Paul died on the same day (and possibly the same year). Some hold the view that he could have revisited Greece and Asia Minor after his trip to Spain, and might then have been arrested in Troas (2 Timothy 4:13) and taken to Rome and executed. A Roman catholic tradition holds that Paul was interred with Saint Peter ad Catacumbas by the via Appia until moved to what is now the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome (now in the process of being excavated). Bede, in his Ecclesiastical History, writes that Pope Vitalian in 665 gave Paul's relics (including a cross made from his prison chains) from the crypts of Lucina to King Oswy of Northumbria, northern Britain. However, Bede's use of the word "relic" was not limited to corporal remains.

Writings

Authorship

Paul is the second most prolific contributor to the New Testament (after Luke, whose two books amount to nearly a third of the New Testament). Thirteen letters are attributed to him with varying degrees of confidence. The letters are written in Koine Greek and it may be that he employed an amanuensis, only occasionally writing himself. The undisputed Pauline epistles contain the earliest systematic account of Christian doctrine, and provide information on the life of the infant Church. They are arguably the oldest part of the New Testament. Paul also appears in the pages of the Acts of the Apostles, attributed to Luke, so that it is possible to compare the account of his life in the Acts with his own account in his various letters. His letters are largely written to churches which he had founded or visited; he was a great traveler, visiting Cyprus, Asia Minor (modern Turkey), Macedonia, mainland Greece, Crete, and Rome bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, first to Jews and then to Gentiles. His letters are full of expositions of what Christians should believe and how they should live. What he does not tell his correspondents (or the modern reader) is much about the life and teachings of Jesus; his most explicit references are to the Last Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17–34) and the crucifixion and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15). His specific references to Jesus' teaching are likewise sparse, raising the question, still disputed, as to how consistent his account of the faith is with that of the four canonical Gospels, Acts, and the Epistle of James. The view that Paul's Christ is very different from the historical Jesus has been expounded by Adolf Harnack among many others. Nevertheless, he provides the first written account of the relationship of the Christian to the Risen Christ — what it is to be a Christian — and thus of Christian spirituality.

Of the thirteen letters traditionally attributed to Paul and included in the Western New Testament canon, there is little or no dispute that Paul actually wrote at least seven, those being Romans, First Corinthians, Second Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, First Thessalonians, and Philemon. Hebrews, which was ascribed to him in antiquity, was questioned even then, never had an ancient attribution, and in modern times is considered by most experts as not by Paul, see also Antilegomena. The authorship of the remaining six Pauline epistles is disputed to varying degrees.

The authenticity of Colossians has been questioned on the grounds that it contains an otherwise unparalleled description (amongst his writings) of Jesus as 'the image of the invisible God,' a Christology found elsewhere only in St. John's gospel. Nowhere is there a richer and more exalted estimate of the position of Christ than here. On the other hand, the personal notes in the letter connect it to Philemon, unquestionably the work of Paul. More problematic is Ephesians, a very similar letter to Colossians, but which reads more like a manifesto than a letter. It is almost entirely lacking in personal reminiscences. Its style is unique; it lacks the emphasis on the cross to be found in other Pauline writings, reference to the Second Coming is missing, and Christian marriage is exalted in a way which contrasts with the grudging reference in 1 Corinthians 7:8–9. Finally it exalts the Church in a way suggestive of a second generation of Christians, 'built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets' now past. The defenders of its Pauline authorship argue that it was intended to be read by a number of different churches and that it marks the final stage of the development of Paul of Tarsus's thinking.

The Pastoral Epistles, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus have likewise been put in question as Pauline works in modern times. Three main reasons are advanced: first, their difference in vocabulary, style and theology from Paul's acknowledged writings; secondly, the difficulty in fitting them into Paul's biography as we have it. They, like Colossians and Ephesians, were written from prison but suppose Paul's release and travel thereafter. Finally, the concerns expressed are very much the practical ones as to how a church should function. They are more about maintenance than about mission.

2 Thessalonians, like Colossians, is questioned on stylistic grounds, with scholars noting, among other peculiarities, a dependence on 1 Thessalonians yet a distinctiveness in language from the Pauline corpus, suggesting that the author was an imitator.

Paul and Jesus

As already stated, little can be deduced about the historical life of Jesus from Paul's letters. He mentions specifically the Last Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23ff), his death by crucifixion (1 Corinthians 2:2; Philippians 2:8), and his resurrection (Philippians 2:9). In addition, Paul states that Jesus was a Jew of the line of David (Romans 1:3) who was betrayed (1 Corinthians 11:12). Paul concentrates instead on the nature of the Christian's relationship with Christ and, in p

1. Joseph Barber Lightfoot in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians writes: "At this point the apostle takes the pen from his amanuensis, and the concluding paragraph is written with his own hand. From the time when letters began to be forged in his name (2 Thess 2:2; 3:17) it seems to have been his practice to close with a few words in his own handwriting, as a precaution against such forgeries… In the present case he writes a whole paragraph, summing up the main lessons of the epistle in terse, eager, disjointed sentences. He writes it, too, in large, bold characters (Gr. pelikois grammasin), that his handwriting may reflect the energy and determination of his soul."
2. Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church ed.F.L. Lucas (Oxford) entry on St. Paul
3. Laymon, Charles M. The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary on the Bible (Abingdon Press, Nashville 1971) ISBN 0687192994
4. Walton, Steve (2000). Leadership and Lifestyle: The Portrait of Paul in the Miletus Speech and 1 Thessalonians. Cambridge University Press. p. 3. ISBN 0521780063.
5. Hare, Douglas R. A. (1987), "Introduction", in Knox, John (ed.), Chapters in a Life of Paul (Revised ed.), Mercer University Press, pp. x, ISBN 0865542813
6. Maccoby, Hyam (1998). The mythmaker (Barnes and Noble ed. ed.). Barnes and Noble. p. 4. ISBN 0760707871. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
7. Chapters 9:30, 11:25 and 22:3
8. Hengel, Martin (1997). Paul Between Damascus and Antioch: The Unknown Years. trans. John Bowden. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 43. ISBN 0664257364. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
9. Galatians 2:1–10
10. Barnett, Paul The Birth Of Christianity: The First Twenty Years (Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2005) ISBN 0802827810 p. 200
11. Ogg, George, Chronology of the New Testament in Peakes Commentary of the Bible (Nelson) 1963)
12. Barnett p. 83
13. Acts 11:26
16. for example see the title in Acts 15 in the NIV
17. see below
18. ^ White, L. Michael (2004). From Jesus to Christianity. HarperCollins. pp. 148–149. ISBN 0060526556.
19. Raymond E. Brown in Introduction to the New Testament argues that they are the same event but each from a different viewpoint with its own bias.
20. Paul:Apostle of the Free Spirit, F. F. Bruce, Paternoster 1980, p.151
21. Ogg, George (ibid) p. 731
22. Bruce Metzger's Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament has the Western version of 15:2: "for Paul spoke maintaining firmly that they should stay as they were when converted; but those who had come from Jerusalem ordered them, Paul and Barnabas and certain others, to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders that they might be judged before them about this question."
23. For example, Augustine's Contra Faustum 32.13, see also Council of Jerusalem
24. Catholic Encyclopedia: Judaizers see section titled: "The Incident At Antioch"
25. Catholic Encyclopedia: Judaizers: "On their arrival Peter, who up to this had eaten with the Gentiles, "withdrew and separated himself, fearing them who were of the circumcision," and by his example drew with him not only the other Jews, but even Barnabas, Paul's fellow-labourer."
26. White, L. Michael (2004). From Jesus to Christianity. HarperSanFrancisco. p. 170. ISBN 0–06–052655–6. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
27. McGarvey: "Yet we see him in the case before us, circumcising Timothy with his own hand, and this 'on account of certain Jews who were in those quarters.'"
28. Map of Paul's Second Missionary Journey
29. ^ Cite error: The named reference Inter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
30. Acts 18:17 NIV
31. Pauline Chronology: His Life and Missionary Work, from Catholic Resources by Felix Just, S.J.
32. Map of Paul's Third Missionary Journey
33. Expositor's Bible Commentary (Zondervan, 1978–1992), Commentary on Acts 21:27–29
34. The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, 5:5–6, translated by J.B. Lightfoot in Lightfoot, Joseph Barber (1890). The Apostolic Fathers: A Revised Text with Introductions, Notes, Dissertations, and Translations. Macmillan. p. 274. OCLC 54248207.
35. Brown, Raymond Edward (1983). Antioch and Rome: New Testament Cradles of Catholic Christianity. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press. p. 124. ISBN 0809125323. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
36. Lactanius, John Chrysostom, Sulpicius Severus all agree with Eusebius' claim that Peter and Paul died under Nero. Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died II; John Chrysostom, Concerning Lowliness of Mind 4; Sulpicius Severus, Chronica II.28–29
37. ' Hebrews authorship by Paul was questioned as early as Origen (circa. 200); it has no early attribution; the almost unanimous views of scholars is that it is not Pauline
38. see Galatians 6:11, Romans 16:22, 1 Corinthians 16:21, Colossians 4:18, 2 Thessalonians 3:17, Philemon 1:19
39. Brown, R.E., The Churches the Apostles left behind p.48.
40. Barrett,C.K. the Pastoral Epistles p.4ff.

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