Paul of Tarsus

Paul (Saul), a Greek-speaking Jew from Tarsus and a Pharisee, first persecuted the followers of Jesus, then, by his own account, saw the risen Jesus and became the leading missionary of the movement among non-Jews. His letters, written c. AD 50–58, are the earliest surviving Christian documents and the earliest written evidence about Jesus.

Seven letters are almost universally accepted as his: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon. In them he quotes earlier traditions about Jesus’s death, burial and appearances and mentions meeting Peter and James, the Lord’s brother. Acts tells of his journeys and his arrest; 1 Clement and later tradition hold that he was executed in Rome under Nero.