Our Savior had said: Go and make disciples of all nations. Still the
apostles from the beginning preached only to the Jews; for it was not
yet clear to them that heathens had the same access to the kingdom of
God as the Jews.
One day, as Peter was sitting on the flat roof of a house, praying, he
saw a vision: He saw a vessel, like a great sheet, come down from
heaven, and in the sheet were all kinds of unclean animals, and a voice
said to him: Rise, Peter; kill and eat. But Peter answered: Not so,
Lord, for I have never eaten anything unclean. The voice said: What God
hath cleansed, make not thou unclean. And this was done thrice, and the
vessel was taken up to heaven.
While Peter was perplexed what the vision might mean, messengers came
from a heathen, Cornelius by name. And Peter went with them, and
preached to Cornelius and his household. And while he was preaching, the
Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. Then Peter said: Can any
man forbid the water that these should not be baptized that have
received the Holy Spirit, as well as we? And he commanded that they be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. When the brethren in Jerusalem
heard this, they said: Then unto the gentiles also hath God granted
repentance unto life. (Acts 10, 11:1-18.)