Any non-Christian Gentiles in the synagogues were Gentiles who had converted to *Judaism*, and who were otherwise known as "God-fearers".
Agreed. Not a lot of pagans there
These Gentiles would have observed all the laws of Moses and Jewish customs, including circumcision and observing Sabbath,
the god-fearing gentiles were not circumcised.
Gentiles that did fully convert and were circumcised were called Jews. See Ephesians 2.
Eph 2
11 Therefore remember that formerly
you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,”
which is performed in the flesh by human hands— 12
remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world
Gentiles that converted and were circumcised - were considered Jews and could participate in the passover and enter the temple.
So then the Ethiopian eunuch – probably came all that way “to celebrate the Passover” – because he was also circumcised.
The "court of the gentiles" was where uncirmcumcised gentiles were restricted, no matter that they worship the one true God.
from:
The Court of the Gentiles (Herod's Temple )
The Court of the Gentiles
The entire Temple compound was considered holy, but it became increasingly more holy as one entered farther in, from east to west. King Herod had enclosed the outer court with colonnades and it was referred to as the Court of the Gentiles because the "gentiles" (non-Jews) were permitted to enter the Temple area. They could walk within in it but they were forbidden to go any further than the outer court. They were excluded from entering into any of the inner courts, and warning signs in Greek and Latin were placed that gave warning that the penalty for such trespass was death. The Romans permitted the Jewish authorities to carry out the death penalty for this offence, even if the offender were a Roman citizen. It was for this alleged crime that Paul was attacked and nearly beaten to death by an angry crowd during his last visit to Jerusalem (Acts 21:27-32).
...
Anyone was allowed to enter the
outer area, which was therefore called the Court of the Gentiles. The actual Temple was enclosed by a balustrade, and at the entrances to it were warning notices, one of them is now in a museum in Istanbul. It says that foreigners have freedom of access provided they do not go beyond the balustrade which went all around the central edifice
and which no uncircumcised could cross without incurring the death penalty.
But Gentiles could choose to worship the one true God – including in the synagogues – and not be circumcised… and so could not observe Passover.
Cornelius was most certainly a god-fearing uncircumcised gentile who would NOT have been “observing Passover” with Peter.
Acts 10
Now
there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the
Jewish people and prayed to God continually
26 But Peter raised him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am
just a man.” 27 As he talked with him, he entered and *found many people assembled. 28 And he said to them, “
You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and
yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. 29 That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me.”
In Acts 10 -- Peter is talking about someone whom he would not be observing Passover with under normal circumstances because though Cornelius was a god-fearing gentile - he was still considered an uncircumcised gentile, not allowed in the temple (though they were allowed in the synagogues and in the court of the gentiles at the Temple) , and not allowed to celebrate Passover.
