Editing Paul the Apostle (section)

== Church tradition ==
[[File: Greek orthodox mural of Apostle Paul.jpg|thumb|upright=1|A [[Greek Orthodox]] mural painting of St. Paul]]
Various Christian writers have suggested more details about Paul's life:

[[1 Clement]], a letter written by the Roman bishop Clement of Rome around the year 90, reports this about Paul:
{{blockquote|By reason of jealousy and strife Paul by his example pointed out the prize of patient endurance. After that he had been seven times in bonds, had been driven into exile, had been stoned, had preached in the East and in the West, he won the noble renown which was the reward of his faith, having taught righteousness unto the whole world and having reached the farthest bounds of the West; and when he had borne his testimony before the rulers, so he departed from the world and went unto the holy place, having been found a notable pattern of patient endurance.|{{harvnb|Lightfoot|1890|p=274|loc=The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, 5:5–6}}}}

Commenting on this passage, Raymond Brown writes that while it "does not explicitly say" that Paul was martyred in Rome, "such a martyrdom is the most reasonable interpretation".{{sfn|Brown|Meier|1983|p=124}} [[Eusebius of Caesarea]], who wrote in the 4th century, states that Paul was beheaded in the reign of the Roman Emperor [[Nero]].<ref name=EcclHist_II.25 /> This event has been dated either to the year 64 AD, when Rome was devastated by a fire, or a few years later, to 67 AD. According to one tradition, the church of [[San Paolo alle Tre Fontane]] marks the place of Paul's execution. A [[Roman Catholic]] [[Catholic liturgy|liturgical]] [[Feast of Saints Peter and Paul|solemnity of Peter and Paul]], celebrated on 29 June, commemorates his [[martyrdom]], and reflects a tradition (preserved by Eusebius) that Peter and Paul were martyred at the same time.<ref name=EcclHist_II.25 /> The Roman liturgical calendar for the following day now remembers all Christians martyred in these early persecutions; formerly, 30 June was the feast day for St. Paul.{{sfn|Butler|1866|loc=30 June: St. Paul, the Apostle}} Persons or religious orders with a special affinity for St. Paul can still celebrate their patron on 30 June.

The apocryphal [[Acts of Paul]] and the apocryphal [[Acts of Peter]] suggest that Paul survived Rome and traveled further west. Some think that Paul could have revisited Greece and Asia Minor after his trip to Spain, and might then have been arrested in Troas, and taken to Rome and executed.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Timothy|4:13|NIV}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|name="disputed"}} A tradition holds that Paul was interred with Saint Peter {{lang|la|ad Catacumbas}} by the [[Appian Way|via Appia]] until moved to what is now the [[Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls]] in Rome. [[Bede]], in his ''[[Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum|Ecclesiastical History]]'', writes that [[Pope Vitalian]] in 665 gave Paul's relics (including a cross made from his prison chains) from the [[Crypt of Lucina|crypts of Lucina]] to King [[Oswy of Northumbria]], northern Britain. The skull of Saint Paul is claimed to reside in the [[Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]] since at least the ninth century, alongside the skull of [[Saint Peter]].<ref>{{cite journal|last = Cuming | first = H. Syer | title = Notes on a group of reliquaries | journal= Journal of the British Archaeological Association|date=December 1870 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=UDAGAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA272 }}</ref>

The [[Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul]] is celebrated on 25 January.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chambers' The Book of Days|url=http://www.thebookofdays.com/months/jan/25.htm|year= 1869|access-date=9 February 2012}}</ref>