People Confirmed
Sergius Paulus of Cyprus
30-second summary
Acts 13 records Paul striking the Cyprus sorcerer Elymas blind before the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus, who then believed. Luke's title 'proconsul' is administratively exact for Cyprus after 22 BC, and a prominent family of that name is independently attested across Cyprus, Rome, and Pisidian Antioch in this same era.
Scripture
Who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, a prudent man. He sending for Barnabas and Saul, desired to hear the word of God.
qui erat cum proconsule Sergio Paulo viro prudente hic accitis Barnaba et Saulo desiderabat audire verbum Dei
Then the proconsul, when he had seen what was done, believed, admiring at the doctrine of the Lord.
tunc proconsul cum vidisset factum credidit admirans super doctrinam Domini
The Claim
Acts 13:6-12 records that Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul of Cyprus, summoned Paul and Barnabas at Paphos, watched Paul strike the sorcerer Elymas blind, and believed the Gospel.
- Corroboration
- Luke's title 'proconsul' matches Cyprus's documented status as a senatorial province governed by proconsuls after 22 BC, rather than an imperial legate or prefect as in Judea. A real, prominent Sergius/Sergii Paulli family is independently attested in this same era across Cyprus (Soloi), Rome (a Tiber boundary stone, AD 47), and Pisidian Antioch, the city Paul visits immediately after leaving Cyprus.
- Discovered
- Soloi inscription, Cyprus (found 1887 by Luigi Palma di Cesnola); Tiber boundary stone, Rome, CIL VI 31545 (found 1887, dated AD 47); Sergii Paulli family inscriptions, Pisidian Antioch (found by W. Ramsay and J. G. C. Anderson, 1912-13)
- Current location
- Soloi inscription: Cyprus Museum, Nicosia. Tiber boundary stone (CIL VI 31545): findspot on the Tiber embankment in Rome; current repository not verified in sources consulted. Pisidian Antioch family inscriptions: Yalvaç Archaeological Museum, Turkey.
Why this level?
Luke's title for the governor of Cyprus, 'proconsul,' is administratively exact: Cyprus became a senatorial province in 22 BC, governed by proconsuls rather than the imperial legates or prefects used elsewhere in the empire, and Luke gets this distinction right. That is a genuine, historically anchored detail, independent of the Gospels. A prominent family named Sergius Paulus is also independently attested in Cyprus, Rome, and Pisidian Antioch in this same era. Because no inscription names this specific proconsul, the corroboration rests on one solid administrative anchor plus a well-attested family name rather than on two independent confirmations of the man himself, placing the entry at Level 1.
Dig deeper
What Luke records
At Paphos, Paul and Barnabas come before "the proconsul Sergius Paulus, a prudent man" (Acts 13:7, DR), who summons them to hear the word of God. When the sorcerer Elymas (Bar-Jesus) tries to turn him from the faith, Paul strikes him blind, and "the proconsul, when he had seen what was done, believed" (Acts 13:12, DR).
An exact administrative title
Cyprus became a senatorial province in 22 BC, administered by a proconsul rather than the imperial legates or prefects Rome used in provinces like Judea. Luke's title for the governor, Greek anthypatos ("proconsul"), matches this arrangement precisely, at a time when Roman provincial administration varied from region to region and changed over the decades. Naming the correct office for Cyprus specifically reflects accurate, current knowledge of how the empire actually governed the island.
A documented Roman family
A prominent family bearing the name Sergius Paulus (Sergii Paulli) is independently attested across the eastern Mediterranean world in this period. An inscription from Soloi in Cyprus names a proconsul Paulus. A Roman boundary marker on the Tiber (CIL VI 31545) records an L. Sergius Paullus serving as curator of the riverbanks under Claudius in AD 47. Inscriptions from Pisidian Antioch, the city Paul and Barnabas visit next (Acts 13:13-14), name a Sergius Paullus the younger and a Sergia Paulla holding estates there. Together these establish that Sergius Paulus was a real family name carried by men of standing in exactly this era and region — the setting Acts describes is historically grounded, not invented.
Bottom line
Luke identifies Cyprus's governor with the correct Roman title for that province after 22 BC, and he names him from a family genuinely prominent in the region during the mid-first century. The Church has always read the conversion of Sergius Paulus, recorded by an eyewitness companion of Paul, as a real event marking the gospel's advance into Roman authority itself.
Keep digging
- https://drbo.org/chapter/51013.htm
- https://biblehub.com/acts/13-7.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergius_Paulus
- https://biblearchaeology.org/research-articles/cypriots-sorcerers-and-sergius-2/
- https://biblearchaeologyreport.com/2019/11/15/sergius-paulus-an-archaeological-biography/
- https://www.magisterium.com
Citations
- Scripture
Douay-Rheims Bible, Acts 13:7 and 13:12
Acts 13:7; 13:12 (Douay-Rheims, drbo.org)
Supports: Gives the exact Douay-Rheims wording naming 'the proconsul Sergius Paulus' and recording his belief in verse 12
- Scripture
Clementine Vulgate, Acts 13:7 and 13:12
Acts 13:7; 13:12 (Clementine Vulgate, vulgate.org)
Supports: Confirms the Latin 'proconsule Sergio Paulo' and 'proconsul ... credidit' underlying the Douay-Rheims translation
- Source
BibleHub parallel translations, Acts 13:7
Acts 13:7 parallel English translations and Greek interlinear
Supports: Shows modern English Bibles consistently naming him 'Sergius Paulus' and rendering Greek anthypatos as 'proconsul'
- Historical Source
Associates for Biblical Research, 'Cypriots, Sorcerers, and Sergius'
biblearchaeology.org research article on Sergius Paulus and Cyprus
Supports: Documents Cyprus's senatorial-province status and proconsular administration after 22 BC, and the Soloi inscription naming a proconsul Paulus
- Historical Source
Bible Archaeology Report, 'Sergius Paulus: An Archaeological Biography'
biblearchaeologyreport.com article on Sergius Paulus
Supports: Describes the Rome Tiber boundary stone (CIL VI 31545, AD 47) naming L. Sergius Paullus as curator, and the Pisidian Antioch family inscriptions found by Ramsay and Anderson
- Source
Wikipedia article, Sergius Paulus
Supports: Background source for the Soloi inscription's 1887 discovery and its epigraphic dating to the first century