VATICAN - Pope Benedict starts new cycle of catechesis at the beginning of the Year of St Paul: “Paul the Apostle, a noble and practically inimitable figure, stands before us as an example of total dedication to the Lord and to Lord's Church”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – “ Paul the Apostle, a noble and practically inimitable figure, stands before us as an example of total dedication to the Lord and to Lord's Church, as well as broad openness to humanity and its cultures. It is right then that we give him a special place, not only in our veneration but also in our striving to understand what he has to say to us, the Christians of today”. With these words, at the general Wednesday audience on 2 July, the Holy Father, Benedict XVI began a new cycle of catechesis dedicated to the “great apostle Saint Paul”, on the occasion of the Year of St Paul which just started. Dwelling on the religious-cultural context in which the Apostle lived, the Pope said “today's socio-cultural context is not very different from the context in those times”.
“He comes from a precise and restricted culture, certainly minority, the culture and the tradition of the people of Israel–Benedict explained XVI -. In ancient times and markedly within the Roman Empire, as we learn from scholars in this subject, the Jews were about 10% of the entire population; here in Rome around the mid 1st century AD the ratio was even smaller, at the most 3% of the city's population. Their beliefs and life style, and still today, clearly distinguished them from the rest of the people; and this could have two results: either derision, which could even become intolerance, or admiration, expressed in various forms of friendliness as in the case of 'God fearing ' or 'proselytes', pagan who were associated with the Synagogue and shared faith in the God of Israel... Certainly, as today, the number of Jews was far greater outside the land of Israel, that is in the diaspora, than within the territory which others called Palestine”.
The Holy Father went on to mention two factors which favoured the activity of Paul: “Greek, or better Hellenistic culture, which since Alexander the Great had become the common heritage at least in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, although it had encompassed many elements of the cultures of the peoples traditionally considered barbarians”, and “the political-administrative structure of the Roman Empire which guaranteed peace and stability from Britannia to southern Egypt, unifying a territory of such a size never seen before”. In this vast space it was possible to move with sufficient freedom and safety, thanks to an excellent road system.
Continuing with his description of the cultural environment in the 1st Century the Holy Father said: “some have described Paul as 'a man three cultures', considering his Jewish origin, his Greek and his prerogative as a 'civis romanus', a Roman citizen, as the origin of his same confirms. We should remember especially the stoic philosophy which prevailed in Paul's day and which influenced, if only marginally, even his Christianity ”.
“In Paul's time there was a crisis in traditional religion, at least in its mythological and civic aspects” Benedict XVI recalled, and it is in this environment Paul that announces "God does not dwell in temples built by human hands... in Him we live, we move and have our being" (Acts 17,24.28). In that epoch “many pagan cults abandoned the official temples in the city and initiation ceremonies for new members were held in private places. Therefore it was not surprising that Christian gatherings (ekklesíai), as we learn especially from the Letters of St Paul, were held in private homes... Nevertheless the differences between the pagan cults and Christian worship are certainly not minimal and regard the identity awareness of the participants as well as the participation of men and women together, the celebration of the 'Lord's Supper' and the reading of the Scriptures”.
The Pope concluded his catechesis with these words: “it is impossible to understand Paul properly without setting him against the Jewish and pagan background of his day. In this way his figure acquires historical and ideal depth, revealing both sharing and originality with regard to the environment. However the same is true for Christianity in general, of which, as we said, Paul is a first class paradigm, from whom we all still have much to learn. And this is the purpose of the Year of St Paul: to learn from Saint Paul, to learn the faith, to learn Christ, to learn the way of upright living.”(S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 3/7/2008)