St Paul was born in Tarsus, Cilicia (now Southern Turkey) in 5 AD with the birth name Saul. He was raised as a Greek speaking Jew and was a tent-maker as well as a 'zealous' Pharisee which meant he persecuted Christians for following Jesus and having different beliefs to the more dominant religions such as the Roman Empire. Saul converted from Judaism to Christianity even after persecuting other Catholics and supporting the stoning of St Stephen (the first Christian Martyr) when he has a vision of Jesus whilst on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians. Once St Paul became a Christian, he visited Arabia, Damascus, Jerusalem, Syria, Cilicia, Caesarea, Tarsus, Antioch, Cyprus, Greece and Rome as a part of his missionary work. As part of his Missionary work, St Paul wrote letters to the Romans, Galatians, Philippians, Corinthians, Thessalonians and Philemon and brought the Gospel to the Gentiles. Whilst St Paul was on the Council of Jerusalem, he disagreed with circumcision of male Christians and said it was unnecessary. St Paul also believed that Jews and Gentiles are one in Christ and that they are not distinguished in any way. St Paul was tortured then decapitated by Emperor Nero in 67 A.D. but was not recorded in the Bible. The death most likely occurred in Rome and he is now known as a large factor in the spread of Christianity which now includes 2.2 billion Christians.
My Symbol for St Paul:
My Symbol for St Paul:
This symbol I designed for St Paul incorporates the Catholic Fish, Star of David, white to represent purity and blue to represent loyalty, wisdom, trust and faith. All the elements that I used in my symbol signify what St Paul did in his life and how he has contributed to our Catholic Community and how that has shaped our religion today. It was St Paul's goal to create equality and followers of Jesus worldwide, and that wouldn't have been achieved if he wasn't faithful, wise and committed to his mission. St Paul used his wisdom to help converts and answer their questions by writing letters that were then sent and delivered by his assistants. The Star of David and Catholic Fish symbolize his conversion from Judaism to Christianity and how he believed that Jews and Christians shouldn't be distinguished from one another.