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1 THE SHEPHERD • OCTOBER 2024 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO FROM THE DESK OF FATHER ANDREW After last month’s Bible Study, I once again was reminded about the im- portance that Saint Paul has in our Christian Walk. Hence, because St. Paul is responsible for the majority of the New Testament writ- ings, apart from the four Gospels, it is im- portant to know something about him. St. Paul is accountable for writing fourteen of the twenty-two Epistles / Letters, which help explain the four Gospels. Better than half of the Acts of the Apostles deal with the person known as Saul / St. Paul (chap. 7-28). St. Paul was from the big city of Tarsus. Tarsus was the capital of Cilicia, then a part of the prov- ince of Syria. Tarsus was a free city and very active. Tarsus was a typical city consisting of a Greek-Roman civilization with a Jewish colony within it. From the book of Acts, we are told that St. Paul was religiously a Pharisee and cultur- ally / politically a Roman citizen. In his ten years of ministry, St. Paul made three major journeys from Jerusalem, down to Athens, over to Corinth, and finally up to Rome. It was his Roman citizenship that allowed him the freedom to travel so extensively. As a Pharisee, St. Paul believed in the resurrec- tion of the dead, in angelic hosts, and in the spirit. These three major tenets differed from the group known as the Sadducees and St. Paul used that to his advantage in Chapter 23:6-10. As a Pharisee, Saul / St. Paul was given the authority by the high priest to persecute Jewish Christians. It was not until Chapter 11:26 from the book of Acts that those who followed Christ were called Christians. Up until that point, in Chapter 9:2, the group was known as The Way. With the permission to persecute Christians, we meet Saul / St. Paul at the end of Chapter 7, …And Saul con- sented to the death of Stephen. Moving into Chapter 8:3 we read, But Saul was ravaging the Church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women (Christians) and committed them to prison. From Chapter 9:1- 2 we read, But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to enter into the Synagogues and Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to The Way, either men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. It was not enough that Saul / St. Paul had the authority to enter into a Christian’s home; he wanted the permis- sion to enter their places of worship as well. How horrifying! Then one day, our God, the true God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, literally knocked Saul/St. Paul off his horse on his way to Damascus (Acts 9:1-31). Saul’s / St. Paul’s life drastically changed forever as well as the course of Christianity. Instead of fight- ing against the disciples of the Lord, Saul / St. Paul joined forces with them. Saul had an intense and profound meeting with our Lord on the way to Damascus. However, it is not until Chapter 13:1-3 that Saul is “officially” ordained by the church in Antioch and Saul becomes (St.) Paul; a new name for a “new creation” (Galatians 6:15). All of Paul’s time, talent, effort, and energy now go toward serving the true God, Jesus Christ. In his three major journeys, traveling for over ten years, St. Paul established many churches throughout Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome. Needless to say, throughout his travels he stirred up a fuss with the then- Jewish authorities. They were constantly after him, trying to hurt, disrupt, and even kill him. Throughout his Letters / Epistles, we hear about some of those trials and continues 8 www.theshepherdnews.com The Shepherd Newsletter The official newsletter publication for the parish of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego I S S U E 3 4 1 • O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4 IN THIS ISSUE FROM THE DESK OF FR. ANDREW ...... p. 1 PRESIDENT OF THE PARISH COUNCIL, WOMEN OF THE WORD, STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE .................. p. 2 NEWS FROM THE LOFT, DIVINE SERVICES, HOLY SACRAMENTS, DEATHS, MEMORIALS, BOOKSTORE ...................p. 3 YOUTH MINISTRIES ................................. p. 4 ZATHAS FOUNDATION .......................... p. 5 DANCE & CHORAL .................................. p. 6 GREEK LANGUAGE SCHOOL ................ p. 7 PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS .......................... p. 9 PARISH CALENDAR ................................. p. 10 YOUNG AT HEART SENIORS ................. p.11 CONTACT INFORMATION....................... p. 12