The Tudor Society
  • 25 January – Bonfires, torches, bells ringing… and the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

    25th January is the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, an important day in Tudor times. It celebrated the conversion of Saul, a man known for his persecution of Christians, on the road to Damascus.

    In this talk, I explain the background of the feast day and shares a contemporary account of how St Paul’s Day was celebrated in the reign of Queen Mary I.

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  • 25 January – The Feast of the Conversion of St Paul

    This feast day celebrates the conversion of St Paul (formerly Saul) on the road to Damascus. The story of the conversion of Saul, a man known for his persecution of Christians, is found in the Bible in Acts 9:

    “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

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