The name Paul is everywhere! There is a city named St. Paul in Minnesota, Alaska, South Carolina, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, and Oregon. St. Paul’s Cathedral is an iconic seventeenth century church in the heart of London. Rome is the home of the papal basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, begun in the fourth century. Countless numbers of people are named after him. Why are so many places and people named after Paul? Paul’s life story from persecutor to preacher inspired his namesakes and art depicting his conversion to Christianity, his imprisonment, and martyrdom.
Saul
It started with a man named Saul, born in Tarsus, Asia Minor, now Turkey, in the first years of the Current Era (CE). A Pharisee, he would have observed strict adherence to Jewish laws. As an adult, Saul willingly and proudly persecuted early Christians. Shortly after Jesus died, Saul was present at the stoning of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Saul was born a Roman citizen, which gave him privileges in Rome and his homeland. He learned a trade, probably as a tentmaker, which gave him liberty to travel and earn a living.
Rome’s first emperor, Augustus, ruled when Saul was born until he was about fourteen. By the time Saul had converted to Christianity and was martyred, he would live under five emperors, all with differing attitudes towards this new religion and its followers. He described his animosity towards Christians in a letter (Galatians 1:13-15, NRSV)): “You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.”
Conversion
All that changed when Saul traveled from Jerusalem to Damascus, Syria about 37 CE, about five years after Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead. Saul experienced a life-changing event on his way to Damascus. What happened is recounted in Acts 9:1-19 when “a light from heaven flashed around him. He heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Jesus identified himself and appeared to Saul as the Resurrected Christ. Saul fell to the ground and lost his vision. He was taken under the care of a Christian healer and regained his vision. Saul was baptized, and named Paul. He took up preaching Christianity with the same passion in which he tried to crush it. Paul claimed Jesus revealed the gospel to him, and told him to cease harassing the Christians, and preach the gospel to Gentiles (Galatians 1:1-17).
Although we know few details about Saul’s conversion, painters found the scene ideal for portrayal. Artists did their best to fill in the details as the drama of the story was custom-made for visual representation. Paintings of Paul’s conversion often appear paired with paintings of Peter’s crucifixion. Two famous representations of the two martyrs are Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Vatican Pauline Chapel and Caravaggio’s paintings in Rome’s Santa Maria del Popolo. As the Pauline Chapel is not open to the public, it is best seen online or in books.
The most theatrical representation of the conversion is by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, known simply as Caravaggio. He used his trademark juxtaposition of light and dark to emphasize the fallen Saul. With a divine light blinding and overcoming Saul, he lies on the ground with his arms outstretched. His eyes are closed. Caravaggio has added a horse from which Saul has fallen, not referred to in the New Testament, but adds to the story-telling. Michelangelo’s fresco also includes a horse without a rider with Saul on the ground, struck by a bright light.
Caravaggio puts aside the heavenly magnificence, halos, and angels and focuses on raw emotion and fear. To bring emphasis to the conversion, Caravaggio eliminates unnecessary people or background elements. Drama is often the key element in seventeenth century Italian painting.
Although Caravaggio’s paintings were shocking at the time, his gritty no frills interpretations became widely influential. His paintings look modern and appealing today, rather timeless.
Caravaggio’s painting is oil on canvas. Painting with pigments mixed with oil applied to canvas represents a watershed event in art history. Not invented by Italians, however, by Caravaggio’s time oil on canvas became the most common form for the visual arts. Oil offers many benefits over more time-consuming tempera or fresco. Painters can re-paint sections, canvas is portable, and pigments mixed with oil give artists flexibility with application, using either fine or loose brushstrokes. Depth of color can be achieved with oil in a way not possible with other media.
Preaching
Known for his evangelization to non-Jews, he concentrated his preaching in Greece and Asia Minor, establishing and preaching to communities of like-minded Christians. He traveled widely in the eastern Mediterranean. As he traveled, Paul wrote letters to Christian communities, guiding them in faith formation. His letters are included in the New Testament and are frequently referred to in Christian church services. As a newly formed religion, there wasn’t an established hierarchy or common rules. Early Christians figured out how to practice their faith as they went along. Each community worshipped independently, although Paul tried to bring them under one umbrella.
A fourteenth century Sienese painting depicts a serious Paul holding a sword in his right hand, a symbol of his death. His left hand holds four folded letters. The Latin inscription reads: Ad Romanos, Pavlvs, To the Romans, Paul. The papers refer to his letters written to the Roman Christian community a few years prior to his arrival in Rome. This wood panel was once part of an altarpiece with many panels, sadly cut apart when wood paneled altarpieces went out of style. Some panels are missing, others are in different museums.
The original altarpiece was made for the church of San Francesco, in the Tuscan hill town of San Gimignano. A reconstruction of the dismantled altarpiece shows Paul was placed between St. Peter and St. Francis. This artist chose to represent a stern Paul, post conversion, fervent in his beliefs. Paul the Apostle was greatly admired in the church and became a symbol of evangelization. Saints were depicted with their attributes specific to their miracles, importance in the church, or how they were martyred. These attributes help the faithful to identify the saint, since most people were illiterate at the time. Lippo Memmi’s painting is tempera on wood panel. Tempera mixes pigments with egg as a binder. Fine brushstrokes are applied to the prepared wood panel. The gold leaf background signifies divinity. Tempera painting is time consuming and artists cannot paint over sections. Tempera and fresco were the most common painted media prior to oil painting.
Paul tried to bring early Christians together and unify the growing communities. Especially concerning to early Christians, who were Jews, were ideas about the place of Gentiles in a movement started by Jewish Jesus. There were also conflicts between Christians teaching the newly formed faith in different ways in faraway cities and countries. For example, Paul did not require Gentiles to observe Jewish laws nor Jews abandon adherence to their customs, instead emphasizing salvation for all through Christ. This did not sit well with all Jews who were following Jesus’ teachings.
In his letters, Paul sketches out a design for a universal church, brought together in Christ’s love, open to pagans, Gentiles, and Jews. Paul defined himself as an authoritative figure who received teaching directly from Christ. In his letters he comes across as determined, charismatic, and dedicated. He also comes across as a zealot. His letters to Christians, ideas, and preaching must have been threatening to the Roman empire with their devotion to pagan gods. Paul evangelized in territories which provided great riches to the empire, in grain, food, slaves, marble, and other materials. The Romans were wary of uprisings caused by those who resisted their authority or challenged their ways of thinking. Uprisings caused disruption in their flow of commerce and created instability. Controlling those who did not conform consumed valuable military and administration resources.
Paul visited Athens in about 50 CE. Fleeing violence against him, Paul found Greece to be a sacred center of pagan devotion. He urged Athenians to worship the true God at the sacred pagan place of Areopagus, next to the Acropolis, in the center of the city. Preaching at the Areopagus increased Paul’s prominence in the early Christian world. Areopagus became a signature moment for Paul. This tapestry depicts St. Paul Preaching in Athens, referred to in Acts 17:16-34, where Paul addressed locals and professed the gospel. With his arms raised and outstretched, those listening to him reflect a variety of responses, from shock to intent listening.
Pope Leo X asked Renaissance painter Raphael to design ten tapestries for the Sistine Chapel, which were installed in 1519. They were hung on the walls below Michelangelo’s ceiling. The ten tapestries depict the Acts of the Apostles, focusing on Saints Paul and Peter. Raphael prepared full-size drawings for each massive tapestry, which were then woven by the skilled workshop of Pieter van Aelst in Brussels. Raphael’s St. Paul Preaching became the standard representation of Paul’s trip to Athens and his famous stop at Areopagus.
Prison, the Great Fire, and Death
When Paul returned to Jerusalem in 57, he was arrested and held in prison for two years. As a Roman citizen he was allowed to appeal his case to the emperor, and to do so he was sent to Rome about 59 or 60. Unfortunately for Paul, his timing was ill-fated. When he arrived in Rome Nero was emperor (r. 54-68). About five years into his reign, Nero’s ego and sadistic tendencies were wearing thin with the Senate and noble Roman families. Mean-spirited and entitled, as well as being a murderer, Nero was a far cry from Augustus as leader and commander. Nero put Paul under house arrest. Paul’s letter to the Philippians in the New Testament may have been written while he was imprisoned in Rome.
He writes freely about his time in prison and the opportunities it afforded him to spread the word. “I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperials guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear” (Philippians 1:12-14). He expresses ambivalence about his potential death at the hands of his captors or the outcome of his trial.
Not everyone liked Paul or went along with his teachings. As a former persecutor of Christians, he could not win everyone over. Some tried to assassinate him. He did have some envoys and fellow preachers that accompanied him in Asia Minor and to Rome. He also knew Peter and refers to him in Galatians, summarizing their roles as Peter the apostle for the circumcised and Paul the apostle for the uncircumcised (Galatians 2:7-8). Paul met Peter during a trip to Jerusalem to discuss matters of evangelizing and managing followers. Their meeting also served, from Paul’s perspective, to legitimize his teaching, and to talk directly with those who knew Jesus. Peter was the accepted leader after Jesus’ death. Paul initially was an outsider as he never met Jesus when he was alive.
At the time Paul was imprisoned in Rome, so too was Peter. Neither Paul nor Peter established the Christian community in Rome. The new religion had found roots far away from where Paul and Peter were preaching. While in Rome, Paul was able to continue his preaching while he awaited trial. Paul found believers in Rome, who came to see him. He had limited freedom as noted in the New Testament (Acts 28:16), “When we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.”
In July 64 the Great Fire changed Rome and the fate of Nero, Peter, and Paul. The fire burned for a week ravaging fourteen city districts. Rome was built of mud-brick with timber beams. Fire swept through the narrow alleys and streets fueled by hot, dry weather. Nero was relaxing (not fiddling) in his seaside villa and returned to Rome only when his palace was threatened by the flames. Over four thousand homes and apartment blocks were destroyed. Only twenty-six years old and a narcissist, Nero was inept at managing a crisis of this level. Although he helped those displaced from the fire with housing and grain, the blaze contributed to his undoing. He found it convenient to reclaim the land lost to the fire in order to build his grandiose Domus Aurea (Golden House), an architectural complex of concrete, decorated with frescoes, with an artificial lake, mosaics, a 120-foot bronze statue of himself, gardens, and great views of Rome.
To our knowledge, Paul never received a trial. Instead, Nero looked for scapegoats and found the Christians were an easy target to blame for the fire. He rounded up Roman Christians and made them martyrs in the Circus of Nero, just outside the city walls. The Circus of Nero is adjacent to St. Peter’s in the Vatican. Peter was crucified, upside down, as he was unworthy of crucifixion like Jesus. Paul, as a Roman citizen, was sparred the humiliation of crucifixion, and instead was beheaded. Paul and Peter’s death are estimated to have taken place about 65-66. Evidence of their martyrdom and deaths in Rome comes from two sources. Bishop Clement I in the early 90s writes of Peter and Paul’s martyrdom in Rome. This would be about three decades after their death. Eusebius of Caesarea, a fourth century church historian, wrote that Paul was beheaded and Peter crucified in Rome under Nero.
Venetian artist Jacopo Tintoretto painted this large oil on canvas depiction of Paul’s last moments for the church of Madonna dell’Orto in Venice. Tintoretto completed this early in his career as he tried to establish himself in a competitive Venetian environment. He offered to decorate the church at reduced costs, just to create a following and open the door for future commissions. A divine light radiates down on Paul who kneels while the Roman soldier readies his sword. A magnificent burst of colorful clouds divide the heavenly realm from the earth. The soldier has removed his armor in preparation for his task. With his back to us, Paul appears as an older man, thin, and devout. The same divine light that converted Saul now bathes Paul in anticipation of his heavenly arrival. An angel awaits him above with a crown and palm leaf, symbols of martyrdom. There are few depictions of Paul’s martyrdom. His conversion appears more frequently due to its dramatic nature and significance in the New Testament.
Nero intended to control or eliminate the Christians in Rome, instead, he unintentionally created a legacy for the two early martyrs. Peter became the founder of the church in Rome. The Basilica of St. Peter’s was built in the fourth century in the area where he was crucified. Paul’s body was buried outside the city walls, according to Roman law. The papal basilica dedicated to Paul was built by the first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine. Nero’s fate was sealed with uprisings in the provinces, inflated currency to manage debts, and generals who no longer trusted him. Without the army’s support, emperors had no chance. In 68 the Senate declared him a public enemy and his elite Praetorian Guards, who served as body guards, declined to defend him. He was forced to commit suicide.
Most of Nero’s visual legacy in Rome is untraceable. The Senate condemned Nero with a damnatio memoriae. Conceived as a public punishment for the worst offenders, the damnatio memoriae literally expunges a person from culture and history. Nero’s memory was scrubbed, as if he never existed. He was erased from Roman memory, and in public by defacing his portraits, coins, and statues. Compared to Nero, Paul’s memory, along with that of his compatriot Peter, is long lived. His conversion and evangelizing transformed Christianity.
Sources
Eliav, Yaron, “Paul in Athens”, You Tube, University of Michigan, 2018.
Giorgi, Rosa. Saints in Art. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2002.
McBrien, Richard P. Lives of the Saints: From Mary and St. Francis of Assisi to John XXIII and Mother Teresa. HarperCollins, 2001.
Strauss, Barry. Ten Caesars: Rome Emperors from Augustus to Constantine. Simon & Schuster, 2019.
Wilken, Robert Louis. The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity. Yale University Press, 2012.