Christian Pilgrimage Turkiye

First Journey

Antioch on the Orontes – Seleucia Pieria – Salamis – Paphos – Perge – Antioch in Pisidia – Iconium – Lystra – Derbe – Lystra – Iconium – Antioch in Pisidia – Perge – Attaleia – Seleucia Pieria – Antioch on the Orontes (Acts 13:114:28)

The next phase in the churchs expansion into Türkiye began in Acts 13:1. Here the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch set apart St. Barnabas and Saul for a ministry work to which the Holy Spirit had called them. From Antiochs port on the Mediterranean called Seleucia Pieria, the two sailed with John Mark to St. Barnabas home on Cyprus. In the archives of Ugarit and to the Hittites this mountain was known as Mt Hazzi. According to legend, while Seleucus 1(321-281 BCE) was sacrificing on this mountain an eagle snatched part of the sacrificial offering and carried it to the place where the new town would be built. It was named after the nearby Mt Pieria (Musa Dagl). Seleucia Pieria was chosen as a capital before the foundation of Antioch and was one of the nine cities which the king had named after his dynasty.

The king, however, seeing that a coastal city was open to attacks from the sea, and lacking a strong navy, preferred to move the new capital of his kingdom to Antioch from where the inland trade routes also could be controlled. His worries would later be confirmed by the occupation of the port by Ptolemies of Egypt between 241-219 BCE, which is mentioned in the First Book of Maccabees: ‘Plotting evil against Alexander, King Ptolemy took possession of the cities along the seacoast as far as Seleucia-by-theSea’ (1 Mc 11 :8).  The port of Seleucia was created by enlarging a natural basin formed by a stream. Later, under Vespasian and then Titus, and finally completed in the following century, an artificial watercourse was constructed to divert this stream from the harbor to prevent it from being silted up. This is a canal of some 1400 m long, the final 130 m of which was tunneled through the rock to a height and width of 6 m.

The cutting of so-called tunnel of Titus was the greatest project that Rome ever undertook in the provinces. Inscriptions which have survived on its walls, and which give the names of Vespasian (69-79) and Titus (79-81), originally must have also included Domitian (81-96). Other inscriptions record that the work was done in sections and by the participation of particular Roman legions stationed in eastern Anatolia. Some inscriptions also show that further work was done by soldiers of the legions under Antoninus Pius in about 149. This was the port from which St. Paul and St. Barnabas sailed to Cyprus on St. Paul’s First Journey.

Second Journey

Antioch on the Orontes – Derbe – Lystra – Iconium – Antioch in Pisidia – Alexandria Troas – Neapolis – Philippi – Thessalonica – Beroea – Athens – Corinth – Ephesus – Caesarea – Antioch on the Orontes (Acts 13:114:28)

Here St. Paul had a providential meeting with a young believer named Timothy. Recommended by the church there and in Iconium, Timothy was circumcised and then joined the apostles (16:13). After the three visited the church in Pisidian Antioch, the Holy Spirit forbade them to visit Ephesus in the province of Asia.

Their subsequent route through central Türkiye has occasioned much debate by scholars. They certainly turned northward following the Roman road, and then arrived at the important junction at Dorylaeum. Here they turned northwest toward the important cities of Nicea and Nicomedia in the province of Bithynia.

But again the Holy Spirit forbade them from entering Bithynia. So they passed by Mysia and arrived at the important port city of Alexandria Troas (16:68), near the city of Troy made famous in Homers Iliad. Here St. Paul received a vision of a Macedonian man; at last the Holy Spirit provided clear direction. Acts 16:1017 begins the first of three we sections in the book (cf. 20:521:18; 27:128:16).

These suggest that Luke was himself a companion and eyewitness to portions of the journeys he described. After a successful time of ministry in the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia, St. Paul departed Corinth by ship. He stopped briefly in Ephesus on his return to Jerusalem and Antioch, vowing to return if it was Gods will (18:1921). In his absence he left Priscilla and Aquila. This journey occurred about 5052 with 1 years based in Corinth.

Third Journey

Antioch on the Orontes – Derbe – Lystra – Iconium – Antioch in Pisidia – Ephesus – Alexandria Troas – Corinth – Philippi – Thessalonica – Beroea – Alexandria Troas – Assos – Lesbos – Chios – Samos – Trogyllium – Miletus – Cos – Rhodes – Patara – Tyre – Ptolemais – Caesarea – Jerusalem (Acts 18:2321:16)

Gods will was that St. Paul visit Ephesus, so after a time he and Timothy started their journey to this metropolis of Asia. After visiting the churches in Galatia and Phrygia, they arrived at Ephesus via the upper road through the Cayster River valley. Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the Empire, boasting a population of perhaps 300,000 people.

He rented the lecture hall of Tyrannus to preach and teach the gospel. In Romans 16:5 St. Paul sent greetings to Epenetus, his first convert in the province of Asia. The fruit of his 2 year residency in Ephesus was that the entire province of Asia heard the word of the Lord (19:10).One of the seven wonders of the ancient worldthe temple of Artemiswas located in Ephesus, and thousands of pilgrims and sightseers journeyed to Ephesus annually to worship the goddess at her temple.

St. Pauls success, however, brought a reduction in traffic; hence the lucrative sale of Artemis images by the silversmiths was declined. The threat to their commercial interests provoked these merchants to take action, thus causing the riot described in Acts 19:2341. St. Paul barely escaped from the city and headed up the coast, passing through Troas on the way to Macedonia.

He also had problems in the Corinthian church (cf. 2 Cor. 2:12ff.) and was attempting to locate his emissary Titus, whom he had sent ahead. After a period of successful ministry in Macedonia and Achaia, St. Paul returned to Troas accompanied by at least eight of his associates (Acts 20:4 plus Luke).

At Troas St. Paul raised the young Eutychus from the dead when he fell from the upper story of a Roman apartment house called a domus. The next day St. Paul walked over twenty miles to Assos where he met the others on board ship. Luke carefully plots the sea journey south through the Aegean Sea until the ship stopped at Miletos, a port city that boasted two harbors.

There St. Paul summoned the Ephesian elders and delivered on the beach one of his most impassioned messages (20: 1835). On his journey to Jerusalem St. Paul stopped at one more site in Türkiye, the harbor at Patara (21:2). Patara became famous later as the birthplace of Nicholas, the patron saint of Christmas. St. Paul’s third journey lasted from 5356.