Icon of The Conversion of Saint Paul (XIVe S)

Description Icon of The Conversion of Saint Paul (XIVe S)

The conversion of Saint Paul

This Icon represents Saul, the persecutor of the Christians, who became Saint Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, on his way to Damascus where he was mightily struck by God. It was through him that the nascent Church spread among the Gentiles. The Apostle Paul is the only one, among the innumerable crowd of saints, whose conversion is celebrated by Christians on January 25 (source: La Vie). Two books, the Acts of the Apostles and the book to the Galatians, relate the conversion of Saint Paul.

While Saul was going from Jerusalem to Damascus to crack down on the disciples of Jesus in the synagogues, a Light from Heaven enveloped him with its clarity. As he did so, he was struck down by an apparition of Christ and fell to the ground. He lost his sight and heard a voice saying: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you Lord, Saul asked him? Him: I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and go into the city, and they will tell you what you must do. (Acts of the Apostles).

We observe a first scene where the men who accompanied him were questioning. They were mute and amazed at what was happening to Paul. They heard the voice but saw no one (Acts 9, 7). They were looking at Paul.

In a second shot, we see one of his fellow travelers taking the blind Paul by the hand to guide him into the city, as the Lord had commanded.

Moreover, God, in an apparition, commands a disciple, Ananias, to go to the street called "Rue Droite, chez Jude" (Rue Droite still exists in the old city of Damascus in Syria).
Ananias went there, entered the house, laid his hands on Saul and said: Saul my brother, it is the Lord who has sent me! This Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came. So you will receive your sight, and you will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Immediately a kind of scale fell from his eyes and Saul received his sight. He stood up and was baptized (Acts 9:17-18).

It was precisely three days after his encounter with Jesus, while he was in the city, that Paul was truly converted by receiving baptism. Three days during which he neither ate nor drank.

Paul would later reveal that the Gospel he proclaimed was not by human measure, nor was it from a man that he received or learned it, but by a revelation from Jesus Christ.

Paul also tells us in the Acts of the Apostles that he had a vision in the Temple of Jerusalem in which the Lord said to him: "Go! I am going to send you to the Gentiles.

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The icon is provided with a hole on the back, so they are easily fixable to a wall. This hole is notched to facilitate its centering. The icons may also be displayed on an easel.

For the format GL368 see the easels RVAGL42 or IKNG27

You will find the easels in the tab or in the category "Accessories"