49. The Apostle Paul's Journey to Rome

Soon after this, Paul, together with other prisoners, was handed over to the centurion of the Augustan regiment and, accompanied by Aristarchus and Luke, was sent to Rome. Having sailed to the island of Crete, Paul advised them to stay there for the winter. However, the centurion had more confidence in the captain of the ship and the helmsman, who expected to go further. But as soon as their ship went out to sea, a strong wind arose with a whirlwind, and the ship was in great danger. They had already begun to throw overboard, first the cargo, and then the food supplies. Death was inevitable. But one night an angel of God appeared to Paul and said: "Do not be afraid, Paul, you must stand before Caesar, therefore God will grant you all those who sail with you." At last, after fourteen days of stormy sailing, the sailors noticed that they were approaching some land. But when they headed for the shore, their ship ran aground. Then those who knew how to swim threw themselves into the water and thus reached the shore; the rest escaped on the planks and other wrecks of the ship, and thus of the two hundred and seventy-six souls who were on board, none were killed, but all went ashore.

The island they landed on was Melita, now Malta. They were warmly welcomed. The inhabitants of this island immediately lit a fire, around which all those who had escaped the shipwreck gathered. Paul was also with them and put wood on the fire. But while he was gathering firewood, suddenly an echidna crawled out and hung on his hand. And when they saw this, they all said among themselves, "Surely this man is a murderer, when the judgment of God does not let him live, even after he has escaped from the sea." Then people changed their minds about him and said that he was God.

They spent the whole winter on this island, and Paul had many occasions to preach the word of God and heal the sick. Three months later, they set out on another ship and arrived safely in Rome. Here Paul began to preach the gospel to the Jews, and some of them believed. He stayed in Rome for two years, living in a certain house, where he rented an apartment for himself and received all who wished to see him, preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to everyone, and taught about the Lord Jesus without hindrance and with all boldness.

50. The Apostles' Propagation of the Gospel

The Apostle Paul ended his life in Rome, was beheaded with a sword. The Apostle Peter also suffered a martyr's death there. In general, all the apostles sealed the preaching of the Gospel with their blood. Only the Evangelist John, having endured torture, ended his life in extreme old age in prison. The Apostles, preaching and teaching orally, left behind them, although not all, written monuments both of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and of their own preaching. Thus, the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, soon after the Ascension of the Lord, wrote the Gospel for the Palestinian Jews. Almost at the same time, the Apostle Mark, while in Rome, set forth for the Christians there the life and teaching of Jesus Christ in a short Gospel. Then the Gospel was written by the Apostle Luke for a certain noble Roman Theophilus, at whose request the book of the Acts of the Apostles was compiled by the same Luke. The Gospel of John the Theologian appeared later than anyone else. In addition to these apostolic writings, the 14 Epistles of the Apostle Paul, the 7 Conciliar Epistles of the Apostles James, Peter, John and Jude, and, finally, the Apocalypse, or the Revelation of John the Theologian, in which the future fate of the Church of Christ on earth is prophetically set forth. Thus, even during the lifetime of the Apostles, the Christian Church already had all the books of Holy Scripture, and their oral preaching supplemented the rest. And God blessed their efforts in spreading the Gospel with success, so that they clearly saw how the words of the Saviour, spoken by Him before His ascension to heaven, were already fulfilled before them:

And behold, I am with you all the days to the end of the age. Amen.