Among the first apostles, disciples of Jesus Christ, who, after his death, brought the truth of his teachings to people, there is one who did not even know Jesus at the time when he lived among people as an ordinary person. Nevertheless, it was he, along with the apostle Peter, who bears the title of “supreme sovereign” in honor of his great merits in the dissemination of the Gospel doctrine.
From the day of his birth, the future Paul bore the name of Saul and was a citizen of the Roman Empire, although he was born in the Jewish city of Tarsus. Its inhabitants enjoyed the rights of citizens of the Roman Empire. The boy Saul, whose name in Hebrew means “begging, ” “begged out, ” was very capable and was sent to teach Gamaliel, a well-known Jewish educator and law teacher.
Receiving a traditional upbringing, Saul grew up a champion of Roman law and laws, he served in the public service and became one of the most active persecutors of the teachings of Christ and those people who became his followers.
However, a miracle happened - during a religious procession in Damascus, Saul suddenly became blind, his eyes also ceased to see the light, like his soul, blind until then. The Book of Acts tells us that for three days Saul saw nothing, could neither eat nor drink. After this time, the gospel grace came upon him - the eyes and soul of the apostle became visible and he turned to Christ, changing his name to Paul. Having believed in this teaching, he became a preacher and began to read his sermons to the Gentiles, in the synagogues, converting the Jews to a new faith.
Paul put much effort into spreading Christianity around the world. His educational activities allowed this former Roman legalist to become one of the "pillars" of the Christian church. But, like most of the first apostles, Paul suffered a martyrdom at the hands of the persecutors of this faith.
According to biblical tradition, he and Peter were executed in Rome in the year 67 from the birth of Christ by order of the emperor Nero. It happened on the same day. Peter was crucified upside down, and he asked his tormentors about this himself - he did not want his death to be similar to the death of the Teacher, Jesus Christ.
Since Paul was a citizen of Rome, his death was less painful - his head was cut off with a sword. According to legend, the head of the apostle hit the ground three times and three holy sources were slaughtered at this place. The place of his death - "Three Fountains" still attracts crowds of pilgrims from around the world. The memory of the supreme martyrs Peter and Paul by Christians is celebrated on the same day - July 12.
