ST PAUL IN GREECE

St Paul was born a Jew in Tarsus of Cilicia and grew up in Jerusalem. He studied under Gamaliel and became a zealous rabbi defending the Jewish traditions.

This lead him to the prosecution of members of the church in Jerusalem. Christians fled Jerusalem and Paul went after. On his way to Damascus he met Jesus and became a Christian. He went to the synagogues, proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God, and was soon threatened with death by the Jews in Damascus. He went back to Jerusalem, proclaimed the Good News and had to flee to Tarsus when the Jews tried to kill him.

From Tarsus St Paul went to Antioch where he and Barnabas preached and established the Church in Antioch. Then the Holy Spirit opened their eyes to see the need for proclaiming the Gospel to other parts of the Roman Empire.

St Paul's three missionary journeys took him first to Cyprus, Perga, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. He also ministered in Ephesus and Troas. He was called to minister in Macedonia (Greece) and visited Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens and Corinth.

He returned to Jerusalem but the Jews tried to kill him. The Romans took him to Caesarea for his own safety. He insisted to be tried in Rome as he was a Roman citizen. It is not clear how St Paul died but it is belived that he was beheaded in Rome by Nero before 68AD.