St. Paul Parish, Princeton, will host a lecture by Dr. Catherine Vanderpool entitled “The World of St. Paul: Archaeology’s record from the Eastern Mediterranean in the first century C.E.” Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. in the St. Paul Spiritual Center.

Dr. Vanderpool was raised in the Princeton area, earned a bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa., and a doctorate in classical archaeology from Columbia University, N.Y. She lived and worked in Greece for 16 years, returning to the Princeton area in 1986. Vanderpool worked for the American School of Classical Studies at Athens from 1986-2006, serving 1996-2006 as its executive vice president, and from 1996-2010 as president of the school’s Gennadius Library.

Since retiring, she has been active in the local community as well as in Athens, her second home. Vanderpool has also returned to her research on ancient Corinth. She has just completed a collaborative study of one of ancient Corinth’s most important public buildings, a 1st century A.D. basilica, and recently has presented several conference papers connected with the archaeology of ancient Corinth. She is a parishioner in St. Paul Parish.

During her presentation, Vanderpool noted, “I’d like to evoke the background to St. Paul’s life and mission - the setting and the stage. I will talk about how archaeology, on its own and working with other disciplines, has helped us to reconstruct this world, and I will use visual materials from a number of the towns and cities that he visited on his journeys, especially ancient Corinth.”

The lecture, one in the monthly adult faith enrichment speaker series, will be held in the St. Paul Spiritual Center, located below the church with its entrance from the parking lot behind the church.

There is no charge for the lecture, and light refreshments will be served.

For further information, contact the parish office at 609-924-1743, or see stpaulsofprinceton.org. St. Paul Parish is located at 214 Nassau Street, Princeton.