1.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
2.
Church (building)
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A church building, often simply called a church, is a building used for Christian religious activities, particularly worship services. The term in its sense is most often used by Christians to refer to their religious buildings. In traditional Christian architecture, the church is arranged in the shape of a Christian cross. When viewed from plan view the longest part of a cross is represented by the aisle, towers or domes are often added with the intention of directing the eye of the viewer towards the heavens and inspiring church visitors. The earliest identified Christian church was a church founded between 233 and 256. During the 11th through 14th centuries, a wave of building of cathedrals, a cathedral is a church, usually Roman Catholic, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox, housing the seat of a bishop. In standard Greek usage, the word ecclesia was retained to signify both a specific edifice of Christian worship, and the overall community of the faithful. This usage was retained in Latin and the languages derived from Latin, as well as in the Celtic languages. In the Germanic and some Slavic languages, the word kyriak-ós/-ē/-ón was adopted instead, in Old English the sequence of derivation started as cirice, then churche, and eventually church in its current pronunciation. German Kirche, Scottish kirk, Russian церковь, etc. are all similarly derived, according to the New Testament, the earliest Christians did not build church buildings. Instead, they gathered in homes or in Jewish worship places like the Second Temple or synagogues, the earliest archeologically identified Christian church is a house church, the Dura-Europos church, founded between 233 and 256. During the 11th through 14th centuries, a wave of building of cathedrals, in addition to being a place of worship, the cathedral or parish church was used by the community in other ways. It could serve as a place for guilds or a hall for banquets. Mystery plays were performed in cathedrals, and cathedrals might also be used for fairs. The church could be used as a place to thresh and store grain, a common architecture for churches is the shape of a cross. These churches also often have a dome or other large vaulted space in the interior to represent or draw attention to the heavens. Other common shapes for churches include a circle, to represent eternity, or an octagon or similar star shape, another common feature is the spire, a tall tower on the west end of the church or over the crossing. The Latin word basilica was used to describe a Roman public building
3.
Saint Cecilia
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Saint Cecilia is the patroness of musicians. It is written that as the musicians played at her wedding she sang in her heart to the Lord and her feast day is celebrated in the Latin Catholic, Eastern Catholic, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox churches on November 22. She is one of seven women, excluding the Blessed Virgin, while the details of her story appear to be fictional, her existence and martyrdom are considered a historical fact. She is said to have been beheaded with a sword, an early Roman Christian church, Santa Cecilia, was founded in the fourth century in the Trastevere section of Rome, reputedly on the site of the house in which she lived. A number of compositions are dedicated to her, and her feast day, November 22, became the occasion for concerts. St. Cecilia is one of the most famous of the Roman martyrs, according to Johann Peter Kirsch, while it is a pious romance, like so many others compiled in the fifth and sixth century, the existence of the martyrs, however, is a historical fact. The relation between St. Cecilia and Valerianus, Tiburtius, and Maximus, mentioned in the Acts of the Martyrs, has some historical foundation. Her feast day has been celebrated since about the fourth century, the research of Giovanni Battista de Rossi agrees with the statement of Venantius Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers, that she perished in Sicily under Emperor Marcus Aurelius between 176 and 180. According to the story, despite her vow of virginity, she was forced by her parents to marry a nobleman named Valerian. During the wedding, Cecilia sat apart singing to God in her heart, when Valerian asked to see the angel, Cecilia replied that he could if he would go to the third milestone on the Via Appia and be baptized by Pope Urban I. After following Cecilias advice, he saw the angel standing beside her, the martyrdom of Cecilia is said to have followed that of her husband Valerian and his brother at the hands of the prefect Turcius Almachius. The legend about Cecilia’s death says that after being three times on the neck with a sword, she lived for three days, and asked the pope to convert her home into a church. Cecilia was buried at the Catacombs of St. Callistus, in 1599, her body was found still incorrupt, seeming to be asleep. There is no mention of Cecilia in the Depositio Martyrum, but there is a record of an early Roman church founded by a lady of this name, the church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is reputedly built on the site of the house in which she lived. The original church was constructed in the century, during the ninth century. In 1599, while leading a renovation of the church, Cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrati had the remains, the name Cecilia was shared by all women of the Roman gens known as the Caecilii, whose name may be related to the root of caecus. Legends and hagiographies, mistaking it for a name, suggest fanciful etymologies. The first record of a festival in her honor was held at Évreux in Normandy in 1570
4.
Severus Alexander
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Severus Alexander was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235 and the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He and his cousin were both grandsons of the influential and powerful Julia Maesa, who had arranged for Elagabalus acclamation as emperor by the famous Third Gallic Legion and it was the rumor of Alexanders death that triggered the assassination of Elagabalus and his mother. As emperor, Alexanders peace time reign was prosperous, however, Rome was militarily confronted with the rising Sassanid Empire and growing incursions from the tribes of Germania. He managed to check the threat of the Sassanids, but when campaigning against Germanic tribes, Alexander attempted to bring peace by engaging in diplomacy and bribery. This alienated many in the Roman Army and led to a conspiracy to assassinate, under the influence of his mother, Alexander did much to improve the morals and condition of the people, and to enhance the dignity of the state. He employed noted jurists to oversee the administration of justice, such as the famous jurist Ulpian and his advisers were men like the senator and historian Cassius Dio, and it is claimed that he created a select board of 16 senators, although this claim is disputed. He also created a council of 14 who assisted the urban prefect in administering the affairs of the 14 districts of Rome. The following year he decreased the amount of metal in the denarius while adding more silver, raising the silver purity. In religious matters, Alexander preserved an open mind and it is said that he was desirous of erecting a temple to Jesus but was dissuaded by the pagan priests. He allowed a synagogue to be built in Rome, and he gave as a gift to this synagogue a scroll of the Torah known as the Severus Scroll, in legal matters, Alexander did much to aid the rights of his soldiers. He confirmed that soldiers could name anyone as heirs in their will, Alexander also confirmed that soldiers could free their slaves in their wills. On the whole, Alexanders reign was prosperous until the rise, in the east, of the war that followed there are various accounts. Making Antioch his base, he marched at the head of his troops towards Ctesiphon, but an army was destroyed by the Persians. Nevertheless, although the Sassanids were checked for the time, the conduct of the Roman army showed a lack of discipline. In 232 there was a mutiny in the Syrian legion, who proclaimed Taurinus emperor, Alexander managed to suppress the uprising, and Taurinus drowned while attempting to flee across the Euphrates. The emperor returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph in 233, after the Persian war, Alexander returned to Antioch with the famous Origen, one of the greatest Fathers of the Christian Church. Alexanders mother, Julia Mammaea, asked for Origen to tutor Alexander in Christianity, while Alexander was being educated in the Christian doctrines, the northern portion of his empire was being invaded by Germanic and Sarmatian tribes. A new and menacing enemy started to emerge directly after Alexanders success in the Persian war, in A. D234, the barbarians crossed the Rhine and Danube in hordes that even caused panic at the gates of Rome
5.
Baptistery
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In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistery may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral, in the early Church, the catechumens were instructed and the sacrament of baptism was administered in the baptistery. The sacramental importance and sometimes architectural splendor of the baptistery reflect the importance of baptism to Christians. The octagonal plan of the Lateran Baptistery, the first structure built as a baptistery, provided a widely followed model. In a narthex or anteroom the catechumens were instructed and made their confession of faith before baptism, the main interior space centered upon the baptismal font, in which those to be baptized were immersed thrice. Three steps led down to the floor of the font, the iconography of frescos or mosaics on the walls were commonly of the scenes in the life of Saint John the Baptist. The font was at first always of stone, but latterly metals were often used, the Lateran baptisterys font was fed by a natural spring. When the site had been the dwelling of the Laterani, before Constantine presented it to Bishop Miltiades. It will be quickly apprehended that as the requirements for Christian baptisteries expanded, there are also examples of the transition from miraculous springs to baptisteries from Gregory of Tours and Maximus, bishop of Turin. Baptisteries belong to a period of the church when great numbers of adult catechumens were baptized, after the 9th century, with infant baptism increasingly the rule, few baptisteries were built. Some of the older baptisteries were very large, so large that we hear of councils, during the months when there were no baptisms the baptistery doors were sealed with the bishops seal, a method of controlling the orthodoxy of all baptism in the diocese. Some baptisteries were divided into two parts to separate the sexes, sometimes the church had two baptisteries, one for each sex, a fireplace was often provided to warm the neophytes after immersion. Though baptisteries were forbidden to be used as burial-places by the Council of Auxerre they were not uncommonly used as such, the Florentine Antipope John XXIII was buried in the Baptistery facing Florences Duomo with great ceremony and a tomb erected. Many of the archbishops of Canterbury were buried in the baptistery at Canterbury. Baptisteries, we find from the records of early councils, were first built, as soon as Christianity made such progress that baptism became the rule, and as soon as immersion gave place to sprinkling, the ancient baptisteries were no longer necessary. They are still in use, however, in Florence. The baptistery of the Lateran must be the earliest ecclesiastical building still in use, a large part of it remains as built by Constantine. Attached to one side, towards the Lateran basilica, is a porch with two noble porphyry columns and richly carved capitals, bases and entablatures
6.
Theodora (6th century)
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Theodora was empress of the Byzantine Empire and the wife of Emperor Justinian I. She was one of the most influential and powerful of the Byzantine empresses, some sources mention her as empress regnant with Justinian I as her co-regent. Along with her husband, she is a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the main historical sources for her life are the works of her contemporary Procopius. The historian offered three contradictory portrayals of the Empress, the Wars of Justinian, largely completed in 545, paints a picture of a courageous and influential empress who saved the throne for Justinian. Later he wrote the Secret History, which survives in one manuscript suggesting it was not widely read during the Byzantine era. The work revealed an author who had become disillusioned with the emperor Justinian, the empress. Yet much of the covers the same time period as The Wars of Justinian. Besides her piety, her beauty is excessively praised, although Theodora was dead when this work was published, Justinian was alive, and probably commissioned the work. Her contemporary John of Ephesus writes about Theodora in his Lives of the Eastern Saints and he mentions an illegitimate daughter not named by Procopius. Various other historians presented additional information on her life, theophanes the Confessor mentions some familial relations of Theodora to figures not mentioned by Procopius. Victor Tonnennensis notes her familial relation to the empress, Sophia. Michael the Syrian, the Chronicle of 1234 and Bar-Hebraeus place her origin in the city of Daman, near Kallinikos and they contradict Procopius by making Theodora the daughter of a priest, trained in the pious practices of Miaphysitism since birth. These are late Miaphysite sources and record her depiction among members of their creed and these accounts are thus usually ignored in favor of Procopius. Theodora, according to Michael Grant, was of Greek Cypriot descent, there are several indications of her possible birthplace. Her father, Acacius, was a trainer of the hippodromes Green faction in Constantinople. Her mother, whose name is not recorded, was a dancer and her parents had two more daughters. After her fathers death, when Theodora was four, her mother brought her children wearing garlands into the hippodrome, from then on Theodora would be their supporter. Lynda Garland in Byzantine Empresses, Women and Power in Byzantium, employment as an actress at the time would include both indecent exhibitions on stage and providing sexual services off stage
7.
Translation (relic)
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Translations could be accompanied by many acts, including all-night vigils and processions, often involving entire communities. The solemn translation of relics is not treated as the recognition of sanctity. This process is known as local canonization, the date of a translation of a saints relics was celebrated as a feast day in its own right. For example, on January 27 is celebrated the translation of the relics of St. John Chrysostom from the Armenian village of Comana to Constantinople, the most commonly celebrated feast days, however, are the dies natales. The relics of Saint Thyrsus at Sozopolis, Pisidia, in Asia Minor, were brought to Constantinople and his cult became popular in the Iberian Peninsula, where he is known as San Tirso or Santo Tirso. Some of his relics were brought to France, Thyrsus is thus the titular saint of the cathedral of Sisteron in the Basses Alpes, Thyrsus is thus the patron saint of Sisteron. Liborius of Le Mans became patron saint of Paderborn, in Germany, in the early church, the disturbance, let alone the division, of the remains of martyrs and other saints, was not of concern or interest, much less practised. It was assumed that they would remain permanently in their often unidentified resting places in cemeteries, then, martyriums began to be built over the site of the burial of saints. The earliest recorded removal of remains was that of Saint Babylas at Antioch in 354. However, partly perhaps because Constantinople lacked the many graves of Rome, translations soon became common in the Eastern Empire. The Eastern capital was able to acquire the remains of Saints Timothy, Andrew, the division of bodies also began, the 5th century theologian Theodoretus declaring that Grace remains entire with every part. An altar slab dated 357, found in North Africa but now in the Louvre, non-anatomical relics, above all that of the True Cross, were divided and widely distributed from the 4th century. In the 4th century, Basil the Great requested of the ruler of Scythia Minor, Junius Soranus, the sending of Sabbas relics and the writing of the actual letter has been attributed to Bretannio. This letter is the oldest known writing to be composed on Romanian soil and was written in Greek. The spread of all over Europe from the 8th century onward is explained by the fact that after 787. New churches, situated in areas newly converted to Christianity, needed relics, according to one legend concerning Saint Paternian, the inhabitants of Fano competed with those of Cervia for possession of his relics. Cervia would be left with a finger, while Fano would possess the rest of the saints relics, the translation of relics was a solemn and important event. In 1261, the relics of Lucian of Beauvais and his two companions were placed in a new reliquary by William of Grès, the bishop of Beauvais
8.
Catacomb of Callixtus
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The Catacomb is believed to have been created by future Pope Callixtus I, then a deacon of Rome, under the direction of Pope Zephyrinus, enlarging pre-existing early Christian hypogea. Callixtus himself was entombed in the Catacomb of Calepodius on the Aurelian Way, the Catacomb and Crypt were rediscovered in 1854 by the pioneering Italian archaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi. The arcades form part of a graveyard that occupies 15 hectares and is almost 20km long. At its peak, the fifteen hectare site would have held the remains of sixteen popes, nine of those popes were buried in the Crypt of the Popes itself, to which Pope Damasus I built a staircase in the 4th century. Among the discovered Greek language inscriptions are associated with, Pope Pontian, Pope Anterus, Pope Fabian, Pope Lucius I. A more lengthy inscription to Pope Sixtus II by Furius Dionisius Filocalus has also been discovered, outside the Crypt of the Popes, the region of Saints Gaius and Eusebius is so named for the facing tombs of Pope Gaius and Pope Eusebius. In another region, there is a tomb attributed to Pope Cornelius, bearing the inscription CORNELIVS MARTYR, ISBN 0-7864-1527-4 Carragáin, Éamonn Ó, Neuman de Vegvar, Carol L. eds. Roma felix, formation and reflections of medieval Rome
9.
Pope Martin IV
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Pope Martin IV, born Simon de Brion, was Pope from 22 February 1281 to his death in 1285. He was the last French Bishop of Rome to have held court in the Holy See, Simon de Brion, son of Jean, sieur de Brion, was born at the château of Meinpincien, Île-de-France, France, in the decade following 1210. He had a brother named Gilo, who was a knight in diocese of Sens, the seigneurial family of Brion, who took their name from Brion near Joigny, flourished in the Brie français. He spent time at the University of Paris, and is said to have studied law at Padua. Through papal favour he received a canonry at Saint-Quentin in 1238 and spent the period 1248–1259 as a canon of the chapter in Rouen. At the same time he was appointed treasurer of the church of St. Martin in Tours by King Louis IX of France, an office he held until he was elected pope in 1281. In 1255-1259, King Louis IX founded the French royal convent at Longchamps for the Poor Clares, the Kings sister Isabelle was the patroness, and Simon de Brion was the Guardian. In 1259, he was appointed to the council of the king and he became Chancellor of Louis IX of France. On December 17,1261, the new French Pope, Urban IV, made Chancellor de Brion cardinal-priest, Simons previous experience at the French Court made him the perfect choice as Legate. Cardinal Simon therefore returned to France as Papal Legate for Urban IV, in 1264, on the eve of S. Bartholomew, he held a general synod at Paris. He was appointed again, by Pope Gregory X on 1 August 1274 and his first task was to raise support and money for a Crusade against Manfred, the Hohenstaufen candidate for the Imperial Crown. He immediately became involved in the negotiations for papal support for the assumption of the crown of Sicily by Charles of Anjou. As Legate he presided over several synods on reform, and on the raising of funds for Pope Gregorys crusade, the most important of these was held at Bourges on 13 September 1276. Signatures on papal bulls indicate that Cardinal Simon was back in Viterbo by 11 January 1268. In a letter of 14 or 15 January 1268, Pope Clement IV wrote to Cardinal Simon de Brion that he had heard that the Cardinal had fallen from his horse and he also wrote that Conradin and Ludwig Duke of Bavaria were at Verona, and were pressing for Pavia. Cardinal Simons injury must not have severe, since, on April 3,1268. In vetting names, Simon seemed the most suitable, Pope Clement IV fell ill on the Feast of S. Cecilia, and died at Viterbo on 29 November 1268. He had governed the Church for three years, nine months, and twenty-four days, the See of Peter was vacant for two years and nine months
10.
Arnolfo di Cambio
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Arnolfo di Cambio was an Italian architect and sculptor. Arnolfo was born in Colle Val dElsa, Tuscany and he was Nicola Pisano’s chief assistant on the marble Siena Cathedral Pulpit for the Duomo in Siena Cathedral, but he soon began to work independently on an important tomb sculpture. In 1266–1267 he worked in Rome for King Charles I of Anjou, portraying him in the famous statue housed in the Campidoglio. In this period he worked on the presepio of Santa Maria Maggiore, on Santa Maria in Aracoeli, on the monument of Pope Boniface VIII. In 1294–1295 he worked in Florence, mainly as an architect, the surviving statues are now in the Museum of the Cathedral. While the design of the Church of Santa Croce has been attributed to Arnolfo, Vasari also attributed to him the urban plan of the new city of San Giovanni Valdarno. The monumental character of Arnolfos work has left its mark on the appearance of Florence and his funerary monuments became the model for Gothic funerary art. Giorgio Vasari included a biography of Arnolfo in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, old basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence Cathedral St. Peter Enthroned inside St. Peters Basilica, is often attributed to Arnolfo. Lo stil novo del Gotico italiano, Arnolfo di Cambio in the History of Art
11.
Ciborium (architecture)
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In ecclesiastical architecture, a ciborium is a canopy or covering supported by columns, freestanding in the sanctuary, that stands over and covers the altar in a basilica or other church. It may also be known by the general term of baldachin. Early ciboria had curtains hanging from rods between the columns, so that the altar could be concealed from the congregation at points in the liturgy, smaller examples may cover other objects in a church. In a very large church, a ciborium is a way of visually highlighting the altar. The altar and ciborium are often set upon a dais to raise it above the floor of the sanctuary, a ciborium is also a covered, chalice-shaped container for Eucharistic hosts. In Italian the word is used for the tabernacle on the altar. The ciborium arose in the context of a range of canopies. Some of these were temporary and portable, including those using poles and textiles, examples can be seen on many coins, the Missorium of Theodosius I, the Chronography of 354, and other Late Antique works. This structure, erected under Constantine the Great, may itself have been important in spreading the idea of ciboria over altars. Ciboria were placed over the shrines of martyrs, which then had built over them. They also served to shelter the altar from dust and the like from high ceilings that could rarely be reached. This is described as a fastigium in the earliest sources, but was probably a ciborium, like most major early examples it was of silver, whose weight is given, presumably meaning that decorated silver plaques were fixed to a wood or stone framework. No early examples in precious metal have survived, but many are recorded in important churches, the ciborium commissioned by Justinian the Great for Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and described by Paulus Silentarius is now lost. The roof had eight panels rising to the globe and cross, an example of this type is in mosaic in the apse of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, under a very large standing Virgin. It is placed in the church in order to represent concisely the crucifixion, burial and it similarly corresponds to the ark of the covenant of the Lord in which, it is written, is His Holy of Holies and His holy place. Next to it God commanded that two wrought Cherubim be placed on either side —for KIB is the ark, and OURIN is the effulgence, or the light, of God. The example by the Cosmati in the gallery is similar to another 12th-century Italian ciborium now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and that in the Basilica di San Nicola in Bari. By the Romanesque, gabled forms, as at SantAmbrogio, or ones with a top, as at the Euphrasian Basilica or St Marks
12.
Paul the Apostle
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Paul the Apostle, commonly known as Saint Paul, and also known by his native name Saul of Tarsus was an apostle who taught the gospel of the Christ to the first century world. He is generally considered one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age, in the mid-30s to the mid-50s AD, he founded several churches in Asia Minor and Europe. Paul took advantage of his status as both a Jew and a Roman citizen to minister to both Jewish and Roman audiences, according to writings in the New Testament, Paul was dedicated to the persecution of the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem. He was struck blind but, after three days, his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus, and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah, approximately half of the book of Acts deals with Pauls life and works. Fourteen of the books in the New Testament have traditionally been attributed to Paul. Seven of the epistles are undisputed by scholars as being authentic, Pauline authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews is not asserted in the Epistle itself and was already doubted in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. It was almost unquestioningly accepted from the 5th to the 16th centuries that Paul was the author of Hebrews, but that view is now almost universally rejected by scholars. The other six are believed by scholars to have come from followers writing in his name. Other scholars argue that the idea of an author for the disputed epistles raises many problems. Today, Pauls epistles continue to be roots of the theology, worship, and pastoral life in the Catholic and Protestant traditions of the West. Augustine of Hippo developed Pauls idea that salvation is based on faith, martin Luthers interpretation of Pauls writings influenced Luthers doctrine of sola fide. The main source for information about Pauls life is the material found in his epistles, however, the epistles contain little information about Pauls past. The book of Acts recounts more information but leaves several parts of Pauls life out of its narrative, such as his probable, some scholars believe Acts also contradicts Pauls epistles on multiple accounts, in particular concerning the frequency of Pauls visits to the church in Jerusalem. It has been assumed that Sauls name was changed when he converted from Judaism to Christianity. His Jewish name was Saul, perhaps after the biblical King Saul, a fellow Benjamite, according to the Book of Acts, he inherited Roman citizenship from his father. As a Roman citizen, he bore the Latin name of Paul—in biblical Greek, Παῦλος. It was quite usual for the Jews of that time to have two names, one Hebrew, the other Latin or Greek. Jesus called him Saul, Saul in the Hebrew tongue in the book of Acts, later, in a vision to Ananias of Damascus, the Lord referred to him as Saul, of Tarsus
Rome, Italy
Media related to Santa Cecilia in Trastevere at Wikimedia Commons
