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New Testament

Porcius Festus succeeded Felix as the Roman governor of Judea and heard Paul's case, ultimately sending him to Rome for trial.

Porcius Festus was the Roman procurator of Judaea from approximately AD 59–62, succeeding Felix. In Acts 24–26, Festus inherited Paul's case from his predecessor and proposed transferring Paul to Jerusalem for trial—a plan Paul foiled by appealing to Caesar, his right as a Roman citizen (Acts 25:11). Festus also brought Paul before King Agrippa II and Bernice, apparently hoping they would help him frame the theological charges in terms intelligible to Roman law. When Paul described his experience of the resurrection and his commission, Festus cried out that Paul's 'great learning is driving you out of your mind' (Acts 26:24). Festus is depicted as a more conscientious official than Felix, genuinely concerned with legal propriety, though unable to understand the theological substance of Paul's case.