PAUL’S FIRST STOP IN EUROPE:  PHILIPPI Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP Sometime during the summer of AD 48 Paul sailed from Troas. This would have been his first journey by sea. Like all his contemporaries he would have faced it with trepidation. This time, however, he was lucky. They made the crossing to Neapolis, the port of …

PAUL’S FIRST INDEPENDENT MISSION Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP After they returned to Antioch-on-the-Orontes Barnabas and Paul had a disagreement, after which they went their separate ways. It cannot have been a major issue, because several years later they worked harmoniously together. Paul recruited Silas (or Silvanus), and set off for Antioch-in-Pisidia. Clearly he intended to use …

PAUL’S APPRENTICESHIP Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP Paul’s intense fortnight’s reflection on the historical Jesus with Peter in Jerusalem must have filled him with fervour to tell the story of this extraordinary man. We should have expected Paul to rush into an intense missionary campaign. If so, it took place in Syria and Cilicia, but it has …

JESUS THE DEAD MESSIAH Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP Peter must have been deeply touched by Paul’s insatiable curiosity about Jesus. It is likely that Paul’s detailed inquiries brought to the surface of his mind incidents and impressions that he had fogotten. To this extent they delighted in a common quest. There was one important issue, however, …

WITH PETER IN JERUSALEM Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP Paul’s departure from Damascus involved both high drama and farce. Probably in the autumn of AD 37 the Roman emperor Gaius (Caligula) gave Damascus to the Nabataeans as part of his reoganization of the eastern frontier of the empire. For some reason Paul felt that this put him …