Towards the end the article published on August 28^th we saw St. Paul proposing that Gentiles can become Christians without first converting to Judaism.  Apostles, who were all Jews, were shocked. Circumcision was required to become a Jew.  On the one hand the apostles wanted to obey the command to evangelize and on the other the question came up if a conversion to Judaism is needed.  In Leviticus chapter 12 verses 1-3 the need for circumcision is clearly stated.   At the same time, in the scriptures our Lord preached that, for salvation, Baptism is required.  This is recorded in Mark 16:16 and other places in the Bible.  Paul and Barnabas were preaching as if circumcision was not necessary to become a Christian.  However, some were preaching that the Gentiles must convert first and then they can become Christians.  When Paul heard about this, he was not happy.  He decided to take Barnabas with him and go to Jerusalem.

Scholars think that Paul was probably in Rome or in Antioch when he decided to return to Jerusalem to discuss this matter with St. Peter, our first pope.  Peter takes charge of the situation.  Please read Acts of the Apostles, chapter 15.  In Acts 15:11, Peter proclaims a dogma.  Dogma is a teaching of the Church, held as revealed by God and therefore binding on the faithful.  There are two things that caught my attention in the case of the first council at Jerusalem.  The first one is that St. Paul did not break away from St. Peter and the other apostles.  Second, he decided that this subject was important enough for him to stop everything he was doing and travel to Jerusalem.  The apostles met and discussed the differences of opinions and let Peter take the final decision.  The decision that was taken at the council of Jerusalem was to allow Gentiles to become Christians with Baptism.  Circumcision was not needed.  Next stop in our journey of the history of the Church is to see where each of the apostles ended up preaching across the world and see how their lives ended.