The Conversion of Paul

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The Origins of This Image

This icon of Paul’s Conversion is modern in origin, but incorporates many ancient traditions in its design. Paul’s face is always written with a very high forehead and a rather sparse, ragged beard. The image is so characteristic of Paul and so ancient that it may actually include something of Paul’s true appearance.

The account of Paul’s encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus occurs three times in the Acts of the Apostles written by Saint Luke. (See Acts 9:1-19, 22:1-16, and 26:9-18) Paul speaks of it himself in his letter to the Galatians (1:13-17). It was the major turning point in his life, transforming Paul the Pharisee into Paul the Apostle. His encounter with the Risen Lord came while he was vigorously persecuting Christians, having been present at the martyrdom of St. Stephen (Acts 7:58) and probably occurred in 36 AD. According to Paul, God had revealed His Son to him so that he might preach the good news of Jesus Christ to the gentiles. (Gal 1:15-16)

Theology and Symbolism

Icons that relate a story, as contrasted with icons that represent a saint, frequently show multiple scenes in juxtaposition. We see two such scenes in this image. On the left, Paul encounters Christ on the road. On the right, the blinded Paul is led to a house in Damascus, where he remained unable to see until the disciple Ananias laid hands on him. Nowhere in the Bible does it mention that Paul was knocked from his horse, but the horse has been a part of the tradition surrounding this story for a very long time.

The scene on the road features mountainous terrain, using the traditional and somewhat fanciful mountains of iconography. The terrain west of Damascus where the vision occurred is rather hilly. Christ appears out of a circle of white called a mandorla. This represents a window in the sky through which we can get a glimpse of Heaven. A halo surrounds Christ’s head inscribed with a cross. The Greek letters IC XC near His shoulders abbreviate Iesous Khristos, or "Jesus Christ."

The scene in Damascus has a background of buildings. These are not intended in iconography to be a realistic representation, but merely symbolize the urban locale of the story. An unnamed and unidentified person leads the temporarily blind Paul into a house on the street called (to this day) "Straight Street." We are told that he remained there for three days, unable to see and did not eat or drink. Christ provided Paul with an experience parallel to His own Crucifixion and Resurrection. Paul almost immediately thereafter became extremely influential in the early Church, helping to spread the Good News throughout the Roman Empire.

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