Although Jesus Christ
was born in Israel, the name “Christian” is
attributed to his followers not in Israel but in
Antioch (Antakya), from where Christianity spread
all over the world.
(When he found him, he took him to Antioch, and for
a whole year, the two met with the people of the
church and taught a large group. It was at Antioch
that believers were first called Christians. Act.Ap.
11:26)
Today’s ANTAKYA (Antioch) is a city in the southern
part of Turkey on the shores of the Mediterranean
Sea. There are frequent flights from Istanbul to
Adana every day in high season. The driving time
from Adana airport to Antakya city center is 2 1/2
hours (115 miles) Tradition has it
|
that Peter was the first to establish
a church in Antioch; this belief is based on the
references in Acts 9:32 and in Galatians 2:11. When
Barnabas was sent shortly thereafter by the
Jerusalem church to Antioch, he encountered an
enthusiastic community. Needing a helper, he went up
to Tarsus to get Paul to join him. Together they
worked in Antioch for some time before they started
off on their first missionary journey. It was to
identify this large group as distinct from the rest
of the Jewish congregation that they were given the
name “Christian”. Antioch served as the home base
for Peter, Paul and Barnabas; shortly it became the
third most important bishopric (after Jerusalem and
Rome) in the developing church. |
St. Pierre, Antioch |
