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Chapter 1: Foundations of Faith

After the Council of Jerusalem in 50 AD, Saint Peter is recorded as meeting with Saint Paul to discuss future conversion efforts. The details of this meeting are sketchy for historians. The Acts of the Apostles glosses over the meeting and most details concerning this meeting fall into the realm of tradition and apocrypha. What is known is that Saint Peter did not return to Rome, but instead left via a caravan to the east.

Based on a few preserved records and Christian tradition, Saint Peter followed the caravan routes into Mesopotamia which was under the control of the Parthian Empire. His initial missionary efforts focused on the Jewish population in the region and then quickly expanded to include the general population of Mesopotamia. Saint Peter is supposed to have made four missionary journeys throughout the region basing his efforts out of Ctesiphon.

The choice of Ctesiphon as his main base makes a great deal of sense. Ctesiphon was one of the most important cities of Mesopotamia being both centrally located and the winter residence of the Parthian kings. Christian tradition records Saint Peter as being extremely successful in converting people in the region over the course of his 17 year stay in the region. Records obtained from archeological digs in the region have uncovered several records of Christians being mentioned by the Parthian courts in the mid-to-late first century AD in relation to disputes with the Jewish leaders of the region.

According to Christian tradition, Saint Peter's death was a result of these disputes with the Jewish leaders. He is supposed to have been wounded by a knife to the stomach in a riot caused by several pharisees during one of his sermons. It is also stated that Saint Peter forgave the man who stabbed him when he had been captured by several Christians who had brought him before the wounded Apostle's bed for judgment.

Now by coincidence, Saint Paul was in Ctesiphon resting from his fifth missionary journey and planing his sixth journey. Saint Paul's fourth missionary journey is supposed to have taken him throughout Italy, Spain, and parts of northern Africa. His fifth journey is supposed to have taken him to Ethiopia and throughout the Arabian peninsula. Saint Paul was brought to Saint Peter and was then, as recorded in the last chapter of Acts of the Apostles, put in charge of the Christians of Mesopotamia.

Like Saint Peter before him, Saint Paul made Ctesiphon his base of operations. Being in his early sixties, Saint Paul was only the bishop of Ctesiphon for seven years before dying of old age in 74 AD. His seven years were relatively peaceful and focused on converting the local population. His three major actions as the first 'Successor of St. Peter' were as follows: The first was writing a letter to the church in Corinth settling a dispute that had arisen over a minor matter. This particular letter is important for scholars since it is the only letter attributed to Saint Paul that was not included in the Bible. It also contains the phrase "the burden of the rock has been passed to me". Which is considered to be a proof in the Orthodox Church of the Ctesiphon Patriarch's claim to being the Patriarch of Patriarchs.

The second major action of Saint Paul was in constructing the original Tomb of the Apostles. Now, this tomb was not the large complex that currently exists. The original tomb was a simple burial plot for Saint Peter and a small canopy set up nearby so that mass could be said in the shade.

Finally, Saint Paul's last and greatest accomplishment was his rescue of the Jews under siege in Jerusalem during the Jewish Revolt. He is supposed to have gone to Titus's camp just outside the city and begged the then general for mercy. The reason Saint Paul went to Jerusalem is that he hoped his status as a Roman Citizen would help in convincing the general to hear him. Josephus writes that Titus was moved to tears by Saint Paul's pleading that the women, children, and men who only wanted to live in peace be allowed to leave the city. But, the Roman general refused Saint Paul's plea in the end saying that he could not risk a single rebel escaping.

Undeterred, Saint Paul retired to a nearby farm house praying for a solution. Christian tradition holds that late in the night an angel came to the saint and told him to push the feeding troth out of the way. When he did so, the aged preacher found a tunnel that led into Jerusalem. With this tunnel, he is supposed to have gone into Jerusalem every day that the siege lasted preaching and begging his fellow Jews to leave. Over half of the city is supposed to have heard his words and escaped through the tunnel. A tunnel leading from old Jerusalem to outside of the city's walls has been discovered. 'Saint Paul's Tunnel' as it is known is a popular pilgrimage site for both Jews and Christians. However, modern archeologists think that the tunnel was built two centuries earlier by the Hasmonean dynasty in secret.
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