SERGIUS PAULUS. - Roman proconsul in Cyprus during the first missionary journey of St. Paul (Acts 13:7-12).

Luke praises his intelligent prudence. S. called Paul and Barnabas to himself. A Jewish magician, Bar-Jesus (v.), tried to turn him away from the faith; but a miracle of Paul removed all delay. He is the first Roman authority whose adherence to Christianity is recorded.

The identification of this S. P. with his namesake, who provided Pliny with information on natural history (cf. Nat. hist., I. De auctoribus), or with a Lucius Sergius Paulus superintendent of the banks of the Tiber (cf. CIL, VI, 21.545), is not documented. The hypothesis that the Apostle changed the name Saul to that of Paul following the conversion of the proconsul is probably false, although it is found in ancient writers (cf. Jerome, Comm. in epist. ad Philem., 1: PL 26, 640-41; Augustine, Confess., VIII, 4: CSEL, 33, p. 177) and also in recent ones (cf. H. Dessau, Der Name des Apostels Paulus, in Hermes, 45 [1910], pp. 347-68).

Bibliography

BIBL.: Groag, L. Sergius Paulus, in Pauly-Wissowa, II A, coll. 1715-18.

Angelo Penna

@incollection{ec11_sergio_paolo, author = {Penna, Angelo}, title = {Sergio Paolo}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XI}, pages = {388}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1953}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/sergio-paolo} }

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