 | St. Paul (Celebrated on June 29th along with St Peter)
Born in Tarsus as Saul, he was a Hebrew canvas maker who persecuted early Christians after the death of Christ. He is thought to be one of the people who stoned St Stephen to death. However on his way to Damascus he had a vision and converted to Christianity. He was left blind after this vision but recovered and was baptized. He was hated by Jews for his desertion and Christians wouldn't trust him because of his past so he had to struggle to earn his right place. He founded various Christian communities in Asia Minor and finally lived in Rome for three years where he was executed by the Emperor Nero sometime between 64 and 67 AD.
Paulus, his name in Latin, means "of short stature". He is the patron saint of theologians, printers, basket weavers and rope makers. He is particularly invoked in times of tempest and in cases of snake bites.
In art he is represented as an apostle with tunic and pallium. His physical appearance was fixed in the 5th century as a noble man with short or no hair and a long beard, as per the description of Eusebius of Caesarea. His attributes include a book, in reference of his letters to the first Christian communities and the sword as a symbol of his martyrdom. |