Saint Paul the Apostle: A Pillar of Early Christianity

Few figures in Christian history have shaped the faith as profoundly as Saint Paul the Apostle. Born in Tarsus, a city in the Roman province of Cilicia, around the beginning of the first century AD, Paul—originally known as Saul—was a devout Jew of the tribe of Benjamin and a Roman citizen by birth. He was educated under Gamaliel, one of the leading teachers of the Jewish law in Jerusalem, and was known for his zealous adherence to Pharisaic traditions. His early life was marked by intense opposition to the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, whom he viewed as a dangerous sect threatening Jewish purity.