Saul, as he was called at birth (around year 3 at Tarsus, Cilicia -modern Turkey) was a Jewish Talmudic student, a Pharisee and a tent-maker by trade.

      Because he was a Jew, he hated and persecuted Christians as heretical, even assisting at the stoning of Saint Stephen the Martyr.

     On his way to Damascus to arrest another group of them, Saul was knocked to the ground, struck blind by a heavenly light, and given the message that in persecuting Christians, he was persecuting Christ.

      The experience had a profound spiritual effect on him, causing his conversion to Christianity. He was baptized, changed his name to Paul to reflect his new persona, and began travelling and preaching. Martyr.

      He died a martyr – beheaded at Rome, Italy in the year 65.