Galatians 1:21Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

After this, that is, after meeting Peter. He again begins the word of preaching and the struggle set before him, without touching the Jews. This was both because he had been sent to the Gentiles, and because he did not wish to build on another man's foundation. This is why he did not meet the other apostles, even by chance. This is also clear from the words that follow.

Having appeared in Judea only for the sake of meeting Peter, he again leaves it because he had been sent to preach to the Gentiles.

"Then I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia." After visiting Jerusalem he went to Syria, which for us means "exalted" or "excellent." From there he passed into Cilicia, which he desired to receive into faith in Christ by proclaiming to it the summons to repentance. For the name Cilicia means "reception," or "bitter weeping."

For when they learned of the sudden change, that the wolf was doing what belongs to shepherds, they made what had happened to me an occasion for glorifying God.

What does he wish to say by all this? That even in his absence, his gospel convinced everyone.

"After this I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia," that is, he moved directly toward his homeland, bypassing Judea and Palestine. The Apostle says this so that it would be clear that he did not even accidentally meet the Apostles, who were then traveling with preaching through the regions of Palestine. Consequently, he could not have learned Christian doctrine from them.

For quite a long time, about three years, the Apostle Paul was little known, especially because he spent the greater part of this time in Arabia. Since this fact was little known, the Apostle's assurance of the truth of what he says partly concerns this.

But chiefly it concerns his undoubted fidelity to the true teaching of Christ and his independence from the other apostles. They had heard of his wondrous conversion and, together with all the faithful, glorified God for His mercy to Paul and at the same time to the Church of God, which had gained a zealot in its persecutor. "He who was formerly a persecutor, afterward became a radiant teacher," as one praise of Paul says.

That is, he went apart from Judea and Palestine, where the churches had been planted by the apostles and where, probably at that very time, the planters of the faith who had seen the Lord continued to labor.

Thus, "he did not meet the apostles even by chance" (St. Chrysostom). Nor did he have dealings with other believers, among whom there could have been strong experts in the faith.

Everything points to the fact that his teaching depended on no one among men, while nevertheless it agreed with the apostolic teaching, which is from the Lord. What followed from this is self-evident.