Who was the proconsul of Cyprus converted by Paul?

Sergius Paulus was the proconsul of Cyprus whom Paul converted to Christianity. The encounter took place at Paphos during Paul’s first missionary journey, when Paul was travelling with Barnabas and John Mark.

According to Acts 13, Sergius Paulus summoned the missionaries because he wanted to hear the word of God. A Jewish magician and false prophet named Elymas opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Paul rebuked Elymas, who was temporarily struck blind, and Sergius Paulus then believed.

Cyprus was administered as a senatorial province during the period associated with the Acts narrative, making “proconsul” an appropriate title. Inscriptions also attest to a Roman official named Paulus connected with Cyprus, although identifying that official with the biblical Sergius Paulus remains debated.

The story is sometimes confused with the later Roman figure Lucius Sergius Paulus. The connection is possible, but not certain; the biblical answer remains Sergius Paulus.