The sermon held here was the speech given by the Apostle Paul in Athens and subsequently retold.

“And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed, he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.” ( Acts 17:15-17 )

While the Pagan philosophers specifically the Epicureans and Stoics openly ridiculed Paul by labeling him a “seed-picker,” there were others who found his message intriguing. They remarked, “He appears to be discussing a deity” because he was proclaiming the teachings of Jesus and the concept of resurrection.

“Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him. And some said, “What will this babbler say?” other some, “He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange Gods: because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?” For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.” ( Acts 17:18-20 )

An inscribed plaque on the slope of the hill commemorates the address delivered by the Apostle Paul opposing Paganism, commonly referred to as the Areopagus Sermon. This speech played a significant role in persuading numerous Athenians to embrace Christianity.

“For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD”. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, he declares I unto you. And they took him and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?” For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers who were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing.) God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation That they should seek the Lord if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he is not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, “For we are also his offspring.”
( Acts 17:23-32 )

Following the sermon, a number of individuals chose to follow Paul among them were Damaris, a woman, and Dionysius, who was a member of the Areopagus.

“Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” ( Acts 17:34 )

Besides his conversion, Paul’s address at the Areopagus in Athens stands out as one of the most renowned events from his life as recorded in the Book of Acts. It offers us a profound understanding of how he skillfully proclaimed the gospel and defended its truths while amid a predominantly pagan culture.