Holy Eucharist for Conversion of St. Paul
Friday, January 24, 2025, 12:00 PM
Join us to commemorate this feast day with a simple Holy Eucharist in the church at 12:00 p.m. All are welcome. Since the Conversion of St. Paul (January 25) falls on a Saturday this year, we will celebrate it one day early, on Friday, January 24.
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What happened to Paul (also called by his Hebrew name, Saul) outside Damascus was actually less a conversion than a revelation. Paul never left his ancestral Jewish faith. Rather, his vision of the risen Jesus led him to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the fulfillment of God's promises to Israel. Paul came to understand himself as called to preach Jesus as Lord, not only to fellow Jews, but also to Gentiles. More than that, Paul had a special mission to the Gentiles, just as apostles like Peter and James had special missions to the people of Israel.
The Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul marks the completion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a time when we ask God to remove the divisions that separate the various churches. That week begins with the Feast of the Confession of St. Peter on Jan. 18. Peter and Paul can be taken to represent the Catholic and Protestant streams of Christianity: Peter, seen as the first bishop of Rome, and Paul, whose message of salvation by faith alone was at the heart of the Reformation. Despite our tragic separations, we are all one body in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Image: Conversion of St. Paul, icon in St. Paul's Orthodox Church, Dayton, Ohio
Tags: Worship Services
