Damascus, Syria

Like Saul of Tarsus, I greatly anticipated my arrival in Damascus, an ancient city even in his day.

Of course, I was not coming to persecute Christians, as was his intent. My aim was to retrace his experiences — a series of events and responses that would radically change not only him but the whole world.

This week, as the Year of St. Paul begins, I will mentally retrace my own steps on my recent journey.

But first, my predecessor in this place.

The ninth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles recounts the greatest conversion story of all time. As Saul approached the city, a heavenly light shone all around him. It was so bright he fell to the ground. Saul was a Jew from modern-day Turkey sent to arrest new Christian converts in Damascus. As he lay on the ground blinded and confused, a voice spoke out: “Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?”

No, not “a” voice. The voice of Jesus.

Unable to see, Saul was led by his companions into Damascus. Here he waited in the home of a man named Judas, having nothing to eat or drink for three days.

Meanwhile, a local disciple, Ananias, heard God telling him to go to the street called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul. When Ananias arrived, he put his hands on Saul and carried out the Lord’s orders. Immediately things like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and his vision returned.

Saul of Tarsus left that house as a baptized Saul and began proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God. So began an evangelistic mission that drove Paul to make four monumental journeys, establishing and maintaining local churches along the way and writing the letters that would make up the bulk of the New Testament.

At the St. Ananias Chapel, a wall of illustrations invited me to consider these events in a new light. The small chapel, located deep in the Christian quarter of old Damascus, commemorates the life of the Apostle to the Gentiles.

The chapel is really just a few pews in front of an altar adorned with more depictions of the miraculous happenings that took place here so long ago. I noted a side altar at which previous pilgrims had stuffed hand-written petitions through a metal grate.

I followed the stairs down to the original Roman street level, where a stone house stood in the time of Christ. Could this have been the home of the Judas who took in St. Paul?

Leaving the St. Ananias Chapel, I continued down the narrow lane to the biblical Straight Street and through the Bab Sharqi (Eastern Gate). Then I walked around the outside edge of the old city walls to the Shrine of St. Paul on the walls.

This is the place that most accurately marks where Paul escaped out of a window through the ancient gate, Bab Kisan. It lies in the southeastern part of Damascus — which, even at that time, was populated with Christians. It sits close to the start of the Roman road that led to Jerusalem.

Inside the church, my travel companion, a knowledgeable former seminarian, enthusiastically explained the painted scenes that depicted Paul’s activity before, during and after his journey to Damascus. He reiterated just how crucial these places were, not only in Paul’s life but also for the whole of Christianity. If Saul had remained a Jewish rabbi, we wouldn’t have 14 books of the New Testament.

My friend went on to explain how, after his conversion, Paul went on to preach the word of Christ in the synagogues around town. Consequently the Jews conceived a plot to kill him. They stood guard around the city gates and, as described in Acts, “the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.” We gazed at the replica basket to help us imagine the events better.

Hospitality, Syrian Style

Today the church’s fortress-like appearance appropriately resembles a high city gate. Its thick stones, including some originals, represent the barrier between Paul and his freedom — and the link between St. Paul and the worldwide growth of Christianity.

As Ananias’ original house was destroyed and replaced by a mosque after the Arab conquest, so was the fate of the church that originally commemorated St. Paul’s escape.

The present shrine was finished in 1941 — 60 years before Pope John Paul II visited when he walked the path of St. Paul in 2001.

The Melkite-Greek Catholic Church has maintained this site, along with its adjacent orphanage and home for the elderly, since 1964.

After leaving Damascus, Paul returned to Jerusalem before going abroad to become the Church’s greatest evangelist.

Last year, Pope Benedict designated the Pauline year to run from June 28, 2008, to June 29, 2009, commemorating the approximate 2,000th anniversary of the saint’s birth.

We left Damascus in a more stress-free fashion than Paul did, pleasantly surprised by the Christian presence that still thrives in this heavily Muslim country. We were also delighted by the friendliness and hospitality of all the Syrians we encountered, Christian and Muslim alike.

St. Paul, pray for them — and for us!

Stephen Bugno is based in

Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Shrine of Saint Paul on the Walls

Bab Sharqi

Ibn Assaker Street

Damascus

Phone: 00963 11 5441248

Planning Your Visit

Damascus, one of the oldest cities in the world, is a magnificent place to visit, chock-full of history. Syria is safe for U.S. citizens to visit, and a visa, available only at the Syrian embassy in Washington, D.C., is required. If including Syria on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, remember to visit before traveling on to Israel because an Israeli stamp in your passport will bar your entry to Syria.

_{BACK WHERE IT ALL BEGAN. Today the church’s fortress-like appearance resembles a high city gate. Its thick stones, including some originals, represent the barrier between Paul and his freedom — and the link between St. Paul and the worldwide growth of Christianity. The Pauline Year begins on June 29, feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. Photos: Pope John Paul from Reuters. Others by Stephen Bugno}