Course 3, Chapter 2: Christianity established. — Lives of St. Peter and St. Paul — First Century

1. What did the apostles do after having preached the gospel in Judea V

The apostles, after having preached the gospel in Judea, divided the whole world among themselves, in order to convert it to Jesus Christ.

2. Give some account of St. Peter.

St. Peter was at Joppa when the Lord maxki known to him that the Gentiles also were called to the gospel, and that it was himself, who, as chief head of the church, was to open the way to them.

3. Who was the first convert among the Gentiles?

The first convert amono; the Gentiles was a Roman officer, named Cornelius, who was then at Csesarea. He was a man fearing God, and doing much charity: he pent for St. Peter, who came and baptized him and his whole house.

4. Where did St. Peter go when he left Caeearea?

He went to Antioch, the capital of Syria, and

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there established his see; lie afterwards traveled over a great portion of Asia and came to Rome, where he contended against Simon, the magician, whom the devil had instigated to go to Rome to oppose the preaching of the gospel; he succeeded in putting down the magician; converted many persons, and then returned to the east.

5. What did he do at Jerusalem?

He presided over the council at Jerusalem, at which all the apostles attended. This was the first council, and the model on which have been formed all the councils that have been held in the church. It was decided in this council that the Gentile converts should not be forced to observe the laws of Moses, commanding circumcision.

6. How many epistles did St. Peter write?

St. Peter wrote to the faithful, who were scattered through the different provinces of the Roman empire, two letters, which breathe the tenderness of a father and the dignity of the head of the church; he afterwards went to Rome, where the crown of martyr dom awaited him; an honor shared with him by St. Paul, who had also shared with him the labor of preaching the gospel.

7. Who was St. Paul?

St. Paul, whose name was Saul, was of Jewish origin; born at Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, and a Roman citizen by birth. After having persecuted the Christians, he became the nnst zealous of the apostles, and preached the gospel first at Damascus, whence he was obliged to fly, to escape the fury of the Jews who had resolved to kill him.

8. Whither did he go?

He repaired to Jerusalem, where he saw St. Peter; thence he went to Antioch, where he remained one year in company with St. Barnabas. These two apostles made so many conversions at Antioch, that the faithful there received the name of Christians.

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From Antioch, they went to the isle of Cyprus, where the governor, Sergius Paulus, having been converted by St. Paul, this apostle, in memory thereof, took the name of Paul.

9. What else?

Accompanied by St Barnabas, he traveled all through Asia Minor, and arrived at Lystra where he cured a man who had been lame from his birth. The inhabitants who were pagans, seeing this miracle, thought the apostles were gods, and wished to offer sacrifices to them.

10. What happened to St. Paul in the city of Philippi?

Having arrived at Philippi, a city of Macedonia, in company with a disciple named Silas, he drove the devil out of a female slave who was possessed. The masters of the slave were much exasperated; for she, by pretending to be a fortune-teller, was a source of great gain to them. They caused Paul and Silas to be beaten with rods, and then thrown into prison, under the pretext that they were disturbers of the public peace. During the night the foundations cf the prison were shaken; the gates thrown open, and the chains of the prisoners fell from their limbs. The jailer, thinking that the prisoners had all escaped, was about to kill himself, but St. Paul prevented him, saying: We are all here. The jailer and his whole family were converted; and the next day, St. Paul and Silas were pet at liberty, having converted a great number of persons in the city.