Eight Things YOU Might Not Know About The Conversion of St Paul
Celebrated in the church calendar on January 25th
Here’s a quiz question for you to ponder today…
Who is the ONLY person in the Christian calendar whose feast day does not mark their death — but rather their conversion?
The answer is — to riff on Prince — “the artist formerly known as Saul of Tarsus” — who most Christians think of as St Paul.
We celebrate his conversion — uniquely — in the Anglican calendar each year on January 25th.
So, let’s take a look at this unique event with EIGHT things you might not know about this New Testament story.
1. He wasn’t really even called Paul
Saul was born to Jewish parents in Tarsus, a city in modern-day Turkey. He was a Roman citizen, which was a privileged status at the time. A devout Pharisee raised and educated in the Jewish tradition, he studied under Rabbi Gamaliel — a well-known scholar in the Jewish community.
In the book of Acts, Gamaliel is described as a respected leader in the Jewish community who advised the council not to persecute Jesus’ followers, stating that if the…
