The Holy Apostle Paul
THE FIRST-SUPREME APOSTLE OF CHRIST
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O most wonderful apostle,
which word is worthy to express, so as to not say less than, what you are?
You who are supreme among the apostles,
and you who considered yourself the most unworthy and untimely born among them.
You who endeavoured the most of all,
and suffered most of all.
You who were taken up to heaven
and saw what the eye of man cannot see,
heard what the human ear cannot hear
and what no human mind has conceived.
You who wrote the most sublime hymn of love,
from which we, Christians, still learn today.
Holy Apostle Paul, as the golden-mouthed (Chrysostom) John will say about him, was no different from all of us, ordinary people, but he had a firm character, unshakable will and unreserved faith, which made him from a fierce persecutor of Christians to become the first apostle among the chosen ones, and together with his comrade, the holy apostle Peter, to be called the first-enthroned among the apostles. His zeal and love for God and people are an example for all generations. He is a true example of how Saul becomes Paul, that is, from a fighter against God – toa saint of God.
His youth
Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,
And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;
Walk in the ways of your heart,
And in the sight of your eyes;
But know that for all these
God will bring you into judgment.
(Ecclesiastes 11:9)
Apostle Paul was a contemporary of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he was born somewhere in the first decade of the 1st century, in the Cilician city of Tarsus, from the tribe of Benjamin, of respectable parents and Roman citizens. He inherited Roman citizenship from his ancestors. His Jewish name was Saul – Savle (Shaul), and he was probably named after the Israeli king Saul. Later, after converting to Christianity, he also used his Latin name Paul, which means “lesser”, most likely because he considered himself “the least of the apostles and a untimely born one”.[1]
His parents sent him to Jerusalem, to the Pharisaic school, to study the Law of Moses. His teacher was Rabbi Gamaliel, known for his wisdom and piety, a great scholar of the law, held in high esteem by all the people.
His name also represented his character: Saul means longing, thirsty. Thus, Saul was also thirsty for the knowledge of God, devotedly studied the Pharisaic teaching and was ahead of others. There was nothing he did not know, especially when it came to the Law and the traditions of the fathers. Being zealous for God and unyieldingly righteous, he believed that Christianity, which appeared at that time as a new “sect”, was destructive to Judaism, so he strongly opposed it and wanted to suppress it. “I persecuted the followers of that teaching to the death, binding and delivering into prison both men and women, as also the high priest and all the council of the elders bear me witness, from whom, I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there, to Jerusalem to be punished” (Acts 22, 4-5).
How reckless he was in his zeal is shown by the fact that neither age nor family ties meant anything to him. He argued about the faith and mocked the holy apostle Barnabas, and he also approved the stoning of the young boy, the holy first-martyr Stephen, even though both were his relatives. Since he was an active and zealous Pharisee, this fundamentalist zeal of his took him to the point where the young Saul went all the way to Damascus to persecute Christians, becoming the greatest persecutor of the Church of Christ.
“It is hard for you to kick against the goads”
The God of our fathers has chosen that you should know His will,
to see the Just One and hear the voice of His mouth.
For you will be His witness before all men of what you have seen and heard.
(Acts 22, 14–15)
But on the road to Damascus a miracle happened. Then the Pharisees suffered the biggest loss, and the Christians – gain. As he was walking “on the road and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light shone around him from haven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'”
Astonished and frightened by what happened to him, he asked: “Who are you, Lord?” Because the Church as the Body of Christ, also like the Lord Jesus Christ, identifies with each one of us, as He says: “inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25, 40), He answered Him: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads”[2]. After this, he remained blind for three days, neither eating nor drinking.
Then, in fact, the biggest turning point in his life occurred, which markedly affected the entire universe and the salvation of humanity. Saul – Paul did that out of excessive zeal for God, and God, Who looks at the heart and Who loves endlessly, and manifests Himself to everyone who seeks Him, made manifest Himself to him as well; He revealed to Saul-Paul that He is the Saviour, and revealed to him His salvific dispensation.
Paul then realised his mistake – he realised that God is love[3] and that He does not want sacrifices, but mercy[4], so he repented and asked for forgiveness. After God directed him to Saint Ananias in order to read him a prayer, his eyes were opened, and he was baptized. He stayed with him for several days, and after strengthening himself, he learned the true faith and returned to Damascus. “And immediately he began to preach the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed and said: ‘Is this not the one who persecuted those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?’ But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving to them that this Jesus is the Christ. Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket. (Acts 9, 20-25). From there he went to Jerusalem to see the holy apostle Peter: “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.” (Gal. 1, 15-19). Since then, he constantly and tirelessly preached Christ as the only God and Saviour.
When he came to Jerusalem, the holy apostle Paul tried to join the Lord’s disciples, but everyone was afraid of him, because they knew him as a persecutor of Christians. Later, when the holy apostle Barnabas, whom Paul had previously mocked, saw him and was convinced of his conversion to Christ, he rejoiced and brought him to the apostles, and he told them about his conversion. That filled the holy apostles with joy, and they glorified God. The holy apostle Paul continued to argue with the Jews and Greeks in Jerusalem as well, about the name of the Lord.
Since then, Saint Paul dedicated his whole life to the service of God, working and sacrificing everything for the salvation of all, becoming everything to everyone, just to win someone over to the Lord and somehow save their soul[5]. Therefore, as he himself testifies in his Epistle to the Corinthians:
”To our shame I say that we were too weak for that! But in whatever anyone is bold—I speak foolishly—I am bold also.
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more so: in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in times of fasting often, in cold and nakedness – besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.” (2 Cor. 11, 21-28).
Apostle to the Gentiles
I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise..
(Rom. 1, 14)
On one occasion, standing in the temple and praying, he had a vision in which the Lord said to him: “‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me!’ So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’”(Acts 22, 18-21).
His four journeys, supported by the power of God, bore great fruit in the established Christian communities in Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Macedonia, Achaia, Dalmatia, Illyria, Italy, Gaul and Spain, where a godly life in the widest sense developed, as a testimony for the evangelical and sacramental life in Christ, thus becoming an apostle to the newcomers, the Gentiles.
“The tongue of this man shone more brightly than the Sun, and he abounded more than all in the word of faith;for, considering that he exerted himself more than the others, he also received a great grace of the Spirit[6]. And this is constantly confirmed, not only in his Epistles, but also in the Acts of the Apostles. Because, in all instances of public speaking, people everywhere gave precedenceto him. In the places where the Gentiles heard him, he was considered as Hermes, ‘because he ruled the word’ (Acts 14, 12). (…) He corrected people in two ways: with the authority of his word and with his presence”, says Saint John Chrysostom.
The first missionary journey
And so, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, experience; and experience, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
(Rom. 5, 1–5)
Saint Paul made his first missionary journey in the year 47-48, together with Saint Barnabas. The centre of his travels was Antioch of Pisidia. From Antioch they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to the island of Cyprus, where in the city of Salamis they preached the word of God according to the Jewish collections of books. Up until then, the apostle John – who was called Mark was with them, who later wrote the third gospel, but then he left them and returned home. From Cyprus they came to Perga of Pamphylia, and from there again to Antiochia of Pisidia, then to the cities of Iconia, Lystra and Dervia[7].
In Lystra, the holy apostles Paul and Barnabas first healed a sick man, lame from birth, so the locals began to consider them gods: Paul was called Hermes, and Barnabas – Zeus. The inhabitants brought bullocks and wreaths, wanting to offer them sacrifices, but the apostles tore their clothes and with difficulty persuaded them not to do so: “People, what are you doing? We are also mortal men like you” (Acts 14, 1-18). In the end they stoned them to death, but God protected them and they survived. From there they returned to Antioch, successfully completing their first missionary journey, converting to Christ many Jews and Gentiles, and ordaining many presbyters in all the churches.
The second missionary journey
We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: with great patience, in tribulations, in times of need, in times of distress, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in sleeplessness, in times of fasting; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
(2 Cor. 6, 1–10)
After returning to Antioch, Paul and Barnabas took care of the Church and continued to preach the Gospel. At that time, John, who was called Mark, nephew of the apostle Barnabas, not daring to approach the apostle Paul, approached his relative, the saint Barnabas, and with repentance and tears begged him to take him again with him, saying that he was ready to endure all suffering and even death for the Lord.
Then, Saint Apostle Paul called Barnabas to visit again the places in which they preached the Gospel on the previous trip, the Apostle Barnabas wanted to take his relative John – Mark with him. But the holy apostle Paul opposed it, saying: “Why should we take with us a timid young man, who previously left us in Pamphylia, not wanting to go with us on the work to which we were sent, and separating from us returned to his home?” Thus a quarrel arose between them and in the end they separated. This happened by God’s providence, for they, walking separately, thus brought a greater number of people to salvation.
The holy apostle Barnabas took Mark with him and returned to Cyprus, in his homeland [8], and the holy apostle Paul took Silas, with whom he travelled through Syria and Cilicia, establishing the churches there. Before arriving for the first time in Antioch of Syria, Paul spent several years in Tarsus[9]. He then intended to revisit the communities he founded there, but God had other plans.
He first went to Iconium and Lystra, and then to Troas. In Lystra, the apostle Paul circumcised his disciple Timothy, and the holy apostle Silas joined them. It is significant that in Troas, Saint Paul the Apostle had a vision: a man, a Macedonian, appeared to him, begging him to come to Macedonia [10]. Then, for the first time, Saint Paul the Apostle crossed over to European soil, in the city of Philippi. There Saint Apostle Paul preached in the place where many people usually gathered, and the first to accept Christianity was Lydia, a pious woman. She invited the apostle Paul to her home, and her household believed and were baptised, and also there were many others with them.
Then the apostles went to Thessalonica, Bere, Athens and Corinth. From Corinth they returned to Asia Minor, to the city of Ephesus. From Ephesus they went to Jerusalem and returned again to Antioch. The second missionary journey lasted three years, from 49 to 52.
On the previous journey, as on this one, they had many tribulations and temptations. First at Philippi they cast out an unclean spirit from a maidservant, who had been fortune-telling and thus brought income to her masters, and they being embittered at their loss, slandered them to the authorities who imprisoned them. But God did not abandon them, and a miracle happened in the prison. There was an earthquake and the apostles were freed from the shackles and the cell, because of which the prison guard wanted to kill himself, but they stopped him and went to his home, where they preached the Gospel and baptized his household.
In Thessalonica they were also troubled, first by the Jews of Thessalonica, who could not accept their word, and then they were joined by the adversaries from Philippi, who came thither to persecute them. For the Bereans it is said: “They were more noble than the Thessalonians; they received the word with great zeal.”
In Athens, the holy apostle Paul showed the power of his word and delivered his famous sermon in the Aeropagus of Athens, saying: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown God’. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you” (Acts 17, 23-31). They were joined in Athens by Dionysius, known as the Aeropagite (philosopher), and a woman Damara, as well as a multitude of others.
In Corinth they were joined by a Jew, Aquila, with his wife Priscilla, who became his faithful companions and co-workers in the field of God. From them the holy apostle Paul learned the trade of a weaver and worked together with them, making tents, earning food for himself and his fellow travel-companions with his own hands, as he says in the Epistle to the Thessalonians:
“For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labour and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.” (2. Thess. 3, 7-9).
In Ephesus they met Apollos, a pious Jew from Alexandria, “an eloquent man and versed in the Scriptures”, who had only heard of John’s baptism, but he was very courageous and openly preached. The holy apostles corrected his faith, baptised him, and later he became one of the most zealous apostles of Christ. Thus, from day to day, from place to place, thanks to Paul’s tireless preaching, more and more people accepted the Christian faith.
The third missionary journey
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one. I do not say this to condemn; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together.
(2 Cor. 7, 1–3)
After the Holy Apostle Paul had spent some time in Antioch, he set off on another journey, the third in a row, where he “went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, and strengthened all the disciples”, visiting first the places where he had passed, on his first and second journey [11].
Then he arrived in Ephesus, where the apostle Paul, during his missionary travels, spent much more time than in other cities, even unto two years. The mission in Ephesus was very fruitful: the word of God reached the entire Asian province. There, the holy apostle Paul performed many miracles, and not only his hands, but also the clothes and handkerchiefs that were soaked with his sweat had such a miraculous power, that they immediately healed the sick from all kinds of diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.
However, the people revolted there as well, and they rushed at them with fury, because with their preaching they were reducing the cult of the pagan “goddess” Artemis[12]. At that time, the Churches were founded in Colossae, Erapolis and Laodicea, through the apostle Epaphras [13], one of the associates of the apostle Paul [14]. From Ephesus he went to Philippi and Corinth to visit the Christian communities there. Then he went to Miletus, where he farewelled the elders of the Ephesian Churches, and departed for Jerusalem, where he was taken prisoner.
After being questioned several times, and having no evidence to keep him captive, the authorities did not intend to let him go, he exercised his right as a Roman citizen and asked to be tried before the emperor in Rome. In this way he used (the situation) to fulfil his long-desired aspiration to preach Christ and the Gospel in Rome.
Saint Paul’s journey to Rome is considered to be his fourth missionary journey, but there the apostle Paul went as a prisoner, which helped him to preach uninterruptedly for two whole years, and he converted many Jews and Gentiles to Christ. On the way to Rome, he endured a storm and a shipwreck, but according to the providence of God, everyone survived.
The Apostle Paul wrote several of his Epistles in a prison cell. He addressed them to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, during his first imprisonment from the year 61 to 63. And his last letter, the second Epistle to his faithful friend and co-worker Timothy, he wrote during his last imprisonment, in the year 67.
“The time of my going has come…”
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you.
(2 Cor. 4, 8–12)
After two years of captivity in Rome he was released as innocent. As a tireless worker in the field of God, he went to preach again, now in the western countries. He visited Spain, Gaul (today’s France) and all of Italy. The holy apostle Paul stayed there from the year 57 to 62.
Whilst he was in Spain, thanks to a pious woman Xanthippe, he baptized the mayor Philoteus, the whole city could sense the coming of his end as a martyr. He went to Rome to suffer for Christ and to give his life for Him, because he considered death as a gain. On the way to Rome, he wrote to his spiritual child, the holy apostle Timothy: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who rejoice of His coming.” (2 Tim. 4, 6-9).
The holy apostle Paul went to Rome in order to help his brother in Christ and co-worker, the holy apostle Peter, defeat Simon the Magus, and they both stayed in Rome. They zealously preached Christ and taught people a chaste life. This greatly angered the ferocious emperor Nero, who ordered both of them to be captured and executed. The Holy Apostle Peter was crucified, and considering himself unworthy to die like his King and God, the Lord Jesus Christ, he asked to be crucified upside down. And the holy apostle Paul, being a Roman citizen, they ordered to be beheaded, because according to Roman law it was improper for a Roman citizen to die such a shameful death on a cross, as was practiced at that time. Both were buried in the same tomb, and are celebrated on the same day, June 29/July 12.
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“Such was that holy soul, it encompassed the whole world and carried all people within itself, considering that the closest relationship is with God. And he loved them so much, as if he had fathered them all, or rather, he showed more instinctive affection than any father. For such is the grace of the Spirit – it overcomes the pains of the flesh and yearns more fervently than others. This can especially be seen in Paul’s soul, which through love seemed to have gained wings – he constantly went everywhere, without stopping anywhere, nor resting.
Therefore, let no one say, “I am unskilled and unlearned.” No one is less educated than Peter, no one is more simple than Paul, and even he himself, without being ashamed, admits: “Although I am simple in preaching, I am not in knowledge” (2 Cor. 11, 6). However, this simple and unlearned man surpassed countless philosophers, shut the mouths of countless speakers, and did everything with his enlightened mind and God’s grace. What excuse do we have then, we, who do not even give assistance those who live with us? It is only an excuse and justification – because it is not the desire for knowledge and teaching that hinders our learning, but lethargy and dejection [15]. Let us, then, cast off dejection and with all diligence join ourselves together with our members, so that here too we may be in peace, by teaching in the fear of God those who are close to us, so that from here we can partake of the innumerable goods, through the grace and love-of-humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom, and with Whom, glory and honour to our Father, with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and to all ages. Amen.”
Father Gavril Galev
Abbot of the Monastery “St. Kliment Ohridski”,
Kinglake, Melbourne, Australia
13 / 07 / 2021
[1] See: 1 Cor. 15, 8–9.
[2] See: Acts 9, 3–5.
[3] 1 Job. 4, 7–8.
[4] See: Matthew 12, 7.
[5] See: 1 Cor. 9, 19–23.
[6] See: 1 Cor. 15, 10.
[7] The area of Dervia is located somewhere between today’s Strumica and Valandovo.
[8] See: Acts 4, 36.
[9] See: Acts 9, 30; Acts 11, 25–26.
[10] See: Acts 15, 36; 16, 9.
[11] See: Acts 18, 23.
[12] See: Acts 19, 10; 26.
[13] See: Col. 4, 12–13.
[14] See: Col. 1, 7; Phil. 1, 23.
[15] See: Acts 1, 15; 2, 41.
