Notes in REL 103:

 The First Christian Community lived their lives with the breaking of the bread,
teaching of the apostles, prayer and sharing all things in common.
 Sharing all things in common: start of the conflict. There was a suspicious of
unequal distribution of Jews.
 Hellenists (the Greek speaking people) complained against Hebrews.
 Apostles selected seven reputable men to take in charge of this, one of them is
Stephen, a man filled with the Spirit and wisdom.
 He debated in some members of the synagogue of Freedmen.
 They could not withstand the wisdom and Spirit with which Stephen spoke.
 They told Stephen that he is speaking blasphemous words against Moses and
God.
 They stirred up the people, elders, Scribes…
 Stephen was presented to Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish court.
 He was punished stoned to death.
 This conflict was deepened.
 Hellenists and Jews separated.
 This lead to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD.

Saul: a ferociuos persecutor of the Christians.

 He went to the high priest to ask for letters to close the places where the
Christians worship God in the Damascus.
 On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus, he encountered the Risen Christ!
 Saul was unable to see, stayed at the Damascus without eating nor drinking.
 Ananias, a disciple of God, laid his hands on Saul and regain his sight and he was
filled with the Holy Spirit.
 Ananias baptized Saul.
 Saul preaches in the Damascus.
 Saul visits Jerusalem and preached there. He debated with the Hellenists. People
don’t believe in him.
 They conspired to kill him.
 Brothers learned about this.

Meanwhile, the Church in Galilee, Samaria and Judea were at peace.

 While the Church in Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, great number of who
believed turned to the Lord.
 This reached to the ears of the Church in Jerusalem.
 They sent BARNABAS in Antioch.
 Barnabas rejoiced and encouraged the people to remain faithful to the Lord in
firmness of heart.
 A large number of people was added to the Lord.
 Barnabas went to look for Saul.
 He brought Saul to Antioch, they taught here the whole year.

FIRST JOURNEY:
  Seleucia
 Salamis: they proclaimed in Jewish sinagogues (Paul, John Mark and Barnabas)
 Paphos: thay met a Jewish false prophet Bar-Jesus, who wanted to hear the words
of God, who was with proconsul Sergius Paulus.
 Bar-Jesus or Elymas, a magician opposed them.
 Paul says: You, son of devil, you enemy of all that is right, will you not stop
twisting the straight paths of the Lord, you will be blind…
 And Elymas became blind.
 Proconsul Sergius Paulus saw what happened, he came to believe for he was
astonished by the teaching about the Lord.
 He was called Paul here.
 Perga in Pamphylia: John left them back to Jerusalem.
 Antioch in Pisidia: On a Sabbath day, they went in the synagogue reading the
law.
 the synagogue officials sent word to them that if one of them has a word of
exhortation fo
 r the people, they will tell it.
 Many followed them but many Jews got jealous.
 So, they expelled them out of their territory.
 Iconium: great number of Jews and Greeks came to believed.Though some of the
Jews stirred up and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against them.
 When there was an attempt to attack and stone them, they went to
 Lystra: there was a crippled man, lame from birth who had never walked was
able to walk by Paul.
 They called Barnabas as Zeus and Paul as Hermes, the chief speaker.
 But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium stoned Paul and dragged him out of the
city.
 Derbe: Gaius, one of the converts here.
 They assigned presbyter in each of the Church.
 They commended fasting and abstinence.
 Then, they travelled through Pisidia, Perga Pamphylia, Attalia.
 Then went back to Antioch Syria.

Antioch Syria:

 center of missionary work to the Gentiles.

 it was here that the followers of Christ first called themselves as Christians.
 most of the followers were Gentiles.
 the converts from Judea and those who were faithful to Jewish law insisted on
the practice of circumcision necessary for salvation.
 this leads to the dispute between them and Paul and Barnabas.
 Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to consult the apostles.
 The first council of the Church took place in Jerusalem in the year 49.

Council of Jerusalem:

 was considered the seed for later general and ecumenical councils in the Church
to solve problems confronting the Church.
  James, who pronounced the final verdict: we ought not to cause God s Gentile
converts any difficulties.
 They will just abstain from anything contaminated by idols, from illicit sexual
union and from the meat of strangled animals and also from eating blood.

Council s decision of the Church broke all the barriers to the universality of the Church.
It is also a great turning point in the history of the Church and of the world.

Second Journey:

 Paul and Barnabas separated.

 Barnabas took John Mark while Paul took Silas.
 They make a return visit to see how the brothers are getting on in all the cities
where they proclaimed the word of the Lord.
 Barnabas and John Mark went Cyprus.
 Paul and Silas revisited the Churches he founded in Asia Minor like Derbe and
Lystra.

Third Journey:

 Antioch Syria
 Galatia
 Phrygia
 Ephesus: A Pagan city. Paul with Timothy. They stayed here for 3 years. Apollos
arrived here; a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker. Artemis (Diana), their
goddess. Demetrius, who made the miniature shrine of Artemis.
 Macedonia and Achaia
 Greece
 Macedonia
 Philippi
 Troas: Eutychus, a young boy who fell from the 3rd floor to the ground.
 Assos
 Mitylene
 Chios
 Samos
 Miletus
 Cos
 Rhodes
 Patarca
 Cyprus
 Tyre
 Ptolemais
 Caesarea: Prophet Agabus, warned Paul not to go in Jerusalem. Philip, the
evangelist, one of the 12 apostles of Christ, it is in his house where they stayed.
 Jerusalem

EARLY LIFE :
HIS BIRTHPLACE:
The exact year of the birth of Paul is unknown to us, however many biblical
historical scholars have given a time frame of as early as 4 B.C.E. to as late as 5 C.E.
The city of Tarsus, where Paul was born, was a very important city in Paul's day, as it
was one of the largest trade centers on the Mediterranean coast. It was a seaport city,
about twelve miles up the river Cydnus, with a harbor that was well protected by natural
rock fortifications.
The general population of Tarsus in Paul's day was over a quarter of a million people.

Paul, the Roman Citizen:

 Paul was born a Roman citizen, in a prominent, wealthy family in Tarsus. Roman
citizens commonly had two names, one which indicated their background or
heritage apart from Rome, and the other, which would be their Roman heritage.
Paul's Roman name Saul Paulus was such a name. "He bore two names, the
Hebrew Saul meaning "desired" or "asked for," and the Roman Paulus, meaning
"small.

Paul, as A Jew 
Paul's Religion: Judaism

 Judaism, in Paul's day was considered to be influential, with many followers in

Palestine and throughout the Roman empire. It was considered to be the "official"
religion of the Jews, and as such, was deemed legal by Rome.

There were three different main sects within Judaism in Paul's day, Pharisees, Saducees,
and the Essenes

The Pharisees were the largest sect of Judaism. The majority of Orthodox Jews were
Pharisees, as was Paul and his family. Their religion centered around the law of Moses
and was legalistic in nature. Josephus had this to say concerning the Pharisees, of whom
he was a member: "The Pharisees are those who are esteemed most skillful in the exact
explication of their laws."

The Pharisees were the largest sect of Judaism. The majority of Orthodox Jews were
Pharisees, as was Paul and his family. Their religion centered around the law of Moses
and was legalistic in nature. Josephus had this to say concerning the Pharisees, of whom
he was a member: "The Pharisees are those who are esteemed most skillful in the exact
explication of their laws."

Paul's Education:

 For Paul, as an Orthodox Pharisee, his education would have started in the
synagogue very young at around the age of five. This is because of traditional
Jewish belief that the instilling of the law must start early in life.

Paul started his education at or around the age of five, studying the Pentateuch. At the
age of ten, he would have advanced to the Mishnah, which dealt with detailed tradition.
At the age of thirteen he would have completed his study of the Mishnah, and would
have been ready for formal rabbinical school training.
It was more than likely at this age that Paul left Tarsus to live in Jerusalem, probably with
his married sister (Acts 23:16) to begin his formal training at the Hillel rabbinical school
in Jerusalem. Paul studied under the renown rabbi Gamaliel I, who was one of the
greatest rabbinical teachers of the first century (Acts 22:3). 

In addition to his studies, Paul had to memorize the ancient Hebrew language Targums,
and be able to translate it into Aramaic. Paul, when he had finished rabbinical school, had
received the best education that his religion had to offer. The Hillel school could only be
attended by the best Jewish minds of Paul's day.

Conversion of Paul:

The conversion in Acts of the Apostles (1st Part- Acts 9:3-19):

 Paul was on his way from Jerusalem for Syrian Damascus to arrest followers
of Jesus, with the intention of returning them as prisoners for questioning and
possible execution. The journey is interrupted when Paul sees a blinding light,
and communicates directly with a divine voice.

The account continues with a description of Ananias of Damascus receiving a divine

revelation instructing him to visit Saul at the house of Judas on the Street Called
Straight and there lay hands on him to restore his sight. Ananias is initially reluctant,
having heard about Saul's persecution, but obeys the divine command.

2nd Part (Acts 22):

 Acts' second telling of Paul's conversion occurs in a speech Paul gives when he is
arrested in Jerusalem (Acts 22:6-21). Paul addresses the crowd and tells them of
his conversion.

3rd Part (Acts 26):

 Acts' third discussion of Paul's conversion occurs when Paul addresses King

Agrippa, defending himself against the accusations ofantinomianism that have
been made against him (Acts 26:12-18).

Paul’s Preparation:

 Parts of three years of his post-conversion life were spent in Arabia. Here he
acquired some disciples, and taught the Gospel to all who were willing. 

 After returning from Arabia, he went up to Jerusalem to speak with Peter. The
brethren quickly asked him to leave the city, considering him still to be a wanted
man.

Paul then returned to Silicia, the region of his birth for a lengthy period. By some
reckonings, he may have spent eight or nine years in Silicia preaching a group of
disciples and maturing.

Though the Church has no specific knowledge of his activities during this period, one
might consider this to be Paul's period of preparation for ministry.

Fourteen years after his conversion, he returned to Jerusalem. The motivation for his trip
was likely to provide famine-relief from Antioch to Jerusalem. By this time, Paul had
been preaching with Barnabas in Antioch for a year with wide acclaim. It is during this
trip to Jerusalem that he finally received approval from the apostles to preach to the
Gentiles. 

Persecuted Church:

Brief History of the Persecution of the Church:

1. The Moral Degeneration of the Roman Empire

 When Christianity was preached in Rome, many of its inhabitants were converted
to the New Faith.
 In the 2nd century, the New Faith spread like a wildfire throughout the Roman
provinces.
 The Christian ideal of purity, love and supernatural faith confronted the moral
degeneration of pagan Rome.
 The lofty message of Christianity was attractive and appealing to the inhabitants
of Rome.

The following truths of the Faith opened them to the dignity and splendor of the Christian
Faith:

a. The fundamental worth and dignity of the person

 Egalitarianism was practised, a belief that all persons are equal in their
intrinsic worth and are entitled to equal access to the rights and priviledges
of the soceity.
 The dignity of women was exalted, they gained status in society as wives
and mothers.
 The glorious status of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God and
the first discipleof Christ elevated the dignity of the women.

b. The Spirit of Christian compassion for the poor, the sick and the
abandoned.

 Christian charity was an impressive force in the care of the afflicted.

The Course of Persecutions:

 3 Distinct Periods or Stages of Christian Persecution

Year Persecutor Nature and Famous Martyrs

Reason for
Persecution

First Period 54-60AD Nero Six days of fire Peter and Paul
that destroyed
the three-
fourths of the
city of Rome

81-96 AD Domitian John was exiled Apostle John

to Patmos

Second Period 98-117 AD Trajan Christian is Ignatius of

punishable by Antioch
death

117-138 AD Emperor
Hadrian

138-161 AD Antoninus Pius Christian were

accused of
being atheists
for not
worshipping the
emperor

161-180 AD Marcus Persecution is Justin the

Aurelius legal philosopher,
Polycarp of
Smyrna and the
martyrs of Lyon
193-211 AD Septimus He ordered the
Severus cruel
persecutions of
the Christians
Third Period 249-251 AD Decius Christianity is a
terrible poison
257-258 AD Valerian Christians were
caught
 conducting
services and
meetings. They
refused to make
sacrifices to the
gods.
284-305 AD Diocletian

Important Points:

1. First Period

 Tacitus, the greatest Roman historian who narrated that it was Nero who
instigated the fire to gain the glory of rebuilding the city.
 Apostle John was exiled to Patmos where he wrote the Apocalypse.

2. Second Period

 Tertullian wrote that Christian were fed to the lions whenever there was a disaster
or famine.
 244-249 AD, There was peace in the empire during the reign of Philip the
Arabian.

3. Third Period

 Emperor Diocletian, who conducted the bloodiest persecution of the Christians/

the last persecution.
 Galerius (313 AD), issued an Edict of Tolerance, granting Christianity the right
to exist.
 Maximinus Daia, once again demands Christian blood but also ordered
persecutions to cease.
 Early 313 AD, Constantine, who attributed his victory to the help of the Christian
God. He issued the Edict of Milan, which was established a policy of complete
Religious tolerance.
 Christians were even allowed to get back their properties.

4. The Church During and After the Period of Persecutions

 Martyrdom of Christ was the driving force that urged the people to face death
fearlessly.
 Liturgy was developed.
 Eucharist, central to the Christian worship, celebrated in the catacombs.
 Wednesdays and Fridays, days of fasting.
 Easter, central feastday celebrated on the Sunday after Passover.
 Sacrament of Baptism.\, celebrated with a complete immersion into the waters.
 Venerations of saints developed
 Christians celebrated the feast of the martyrs.
 use of arts and symbols developed.