Paul met James, the brother of Jesus, and Peter, the Apostle, in Jerusalem. He then went on to Antioch where he converted Gentiles. This helped make Christianity a universal religion.
Occupation: Christian
Paul of Tarsus, in Cilicia, was also known by the Jewish name of Saul. Paul, a name he may have had thanks to his Roman citizenship, was born early in the first century A.D. or late in the last century B.C. He was executed in Rome, under Nero, in about A.D. 67.
Paul, a Pharisee and tent-maker, was on his way to Damascus to continue his mission of stamping out converts to the new Jewish sect of Christians when he experienced a vision of Jesus, which he describes in Acts 9:1 – 9 (also Gal. 1:15–16). From then on he became a missionary, spreading the message of Christianity. He also wrote a large part of the New Testament.
Writings of St. Paul include ones that are disputed and ones that are generally accepted. The accepted ones are: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon. Those of disputed authorship are Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, 3 Corinthians, and Epistle to the Laodiceans. Paul's letters are the earliest surviving Christian literature.
When the first Christian, Stephen, was martyred by being stoned to death, Paul was present. Paul supported the killing and was, at the time, attempting to stamp out the new Jewish, Christ-worshiping sect.
The sources on Paul come mainly from his own writing. Although we do not know what happened, Eusebius of Caesarea reports that Paul was beheaded under Nero in either A.D. 64 or 67.
Sources used here: Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia.
