- The city of Antioch in Syria was the base of Paul's missionary operations!
- After the Roman conquest by Pompey, in 64 BC., it became the capital of the province of Syria!
- It was located at the crossroads of the West and the East!
- Thanks to a network of canals and conduits that were supplied from the surrounding mountains, water was accessible both in the palaces of the rich and in the huts of the poor, in public baths and in private baths. Only the cities of Tarsus and Damascus could boast of such a profusion of running water.
- It was in Antioch that Roman coins bearing the effigy of the Emperor were minted.
- The population of Antioch consisted of various races and peoples. In Paul's time, it had about 500,000 inhabitants and was the third city of the empire after Rome and Alexandria.
- The three stages of the young Christian community on the way to the universal Church are characterized by the names: Jerusalem - Antioch - Rome. Antioch which was in contact with all the important cities of the Empire was an ideal place for a Church which wanted to spread among the nations.
- In addition to being an important commercial city, Antioch was a much more dynamic intellectual center than the city Jerusalem continually agitated and in revolt against Rome. Placed in tutelage and under surveillance by the Romans, Jerusalem was in a deplorable economic situation.
- In Antioch, the Jews formed an important colony. All who aspired to a serious religion, especially women, went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. The number of proselytes recruited from among non-Jews was considerable. Citadel of civilization, the separation between Jews and non-Jews was less pronounced than elsewhere. This allowed the foundation of the first mixed church. The Antiochians allowed non-Jews to participate in their life of faith!
- Antioch in Syria exerted a profound influence on Paul: it became, for more than 20 years, his chosen homeland and the starting point of his three great missionary journeys.
- It was a very different world from what we know today!
- In the same way that the world we discover in the first part of the Bible was very different from the modern world!
- This is why we need to soak up this knowledge essential to a good knowledge of the Bible!
- And the languages that were spoken at these different times were also very different from modern languages!
- The Hebrew was more limited and corresponded to the reality of the time!
- The Greek was much richer and corresponded to the reality of the time!
- This is why we cannot consider the two languages in the same way and even less as our modern languages!
- For us, the Hebrews might seem uneducated!
- For the Greeks, we would be uneducated!
- So let's show some modesty and learn to understand these people who are very different from us!
- It will help us to get closer to the Bible and avoid moving away from it!
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14- Antioch of Syria
The city of Antioch at the foot of the mountain
To understand Paul's pastoral work, one must know a little about the city of Antioch in Syria, which was the base of his missionary operations. It was from there that he and Barnabas were sent by the small Christian community.
Antioch was founded three centuries before Paul's birth by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals. Placed at the crossroads of the caravan routes from the East, in connection with Babylon, Persia and India, it was in continuous contact with the western basin of the Mediterranean. Traders, bankers, shipowners were very quickly attracted to this cosmopolitan center, streaming with wealth and passion. After the Roman conquest by Pompey in 64 BC. J.C., it became the capital of the province of Syria.
Third city of the empire
(after Rome and Alexandria),
Antioch of Syria exerted a profound influence on Paul
The city was completely surrounded by a fortified wall, comprising between 300 and 400 towers, a masterpiece of Greco-Roman architecture. Antioch was proud of its hydraulic installations. Thanks to a network of canals and conduits that drew their supplies from the surrounding mountains, water was accessible both in the palaces of the rich and in the huts of the poor, in public baths and private baths. Only the cities of Tarsus and Damascus could boast of such a profusion of running water.
Antioch is located:
- In the northeast of the Mediterranean,
- North of Palestine (Jerusalem) of Lebanon and Jordan (Damascus),
- East of the island of Cyprus and Cilicia (Tarsus)
It was in Antioch that Roman coins bearing the effigy of the Emperor were minted. When Jesus asked the Pharisees, “Whose image and inscription is this?” He was probably holding a coin minted in Antioch in his hand.
Renan painted, in his picturesque style, this picture of Antioch:
“It was an incredible mass of jugglers, charlatans, mimes, magicians, thaumaturges, sorcerers, impostor priests; a city of races, games, dances, processions, feasts, bacchanalia, unbridled luxury, all the follies of the Orient, the most unhealthy superstitions, orgy fanaticism.
The population of Antioch consisted of various races and peoples. In Paul's time, it had about 500,000 inhabitants and was the third city of the empire after Rome and Alexandria.
When Titus razed the Temple of Jerusalem and destroyed the city in AD 70. AD, Antioch became the center of Christianity. From 252 to 380 ten councils met there.
The three stages of the young Christian community on the way to the universal Church are characterized by the names: Jerusalem - Antioch - Rome. Antioch which was in contact with all the important cities of the Empire was an ideal place for a Church which wanted to spread among the nations.
In addition to being an important commercial city, Antioch was a much more dynamic intellectual center than the continually restless city of Jerusalem in revolt against Rome. Placed in tutelage and under surveillance by the Romans, Jerusalem was in a deplorable economic situation.
After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, Antioch became the center of Christianity.
From 252 to 380 ten councils met there.
In Antioch, the Jews formed an important colony. All who aspired to a serious religion, especially women, went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. The number of proselytes recruited from among non-Jews was considerable. Citadel of civilization, the separation between Jews and non-Jews was less pronounced than elsewhere. This allowed the foundation of the first mixed church. The Antiochians allowed non-Jews to participate in their life of faith!
This situation was a cause for concern for the Church in Jerusalem. It was decided to send observers and the choice fell on Barnabas as head of delegation. A more qualified man could hardly have been chosen for this delicate mission. Barnabas, of imposing stature, with a face and gaze reflecting kindness, with calm gestures, had a solid judgment, which does not confuse the accidental with the essential.
After his official visit, Barnabas decided to stay in Antioch. It was he who, a little later, would pick up Paul in Tarsus, to invite him to work with him in this cosmopolitan city of the Empire.
The church at Antioch increasingly saw itself as an outpost of the Christian mission. Barely fifteen years had passed since the death of the Lord, and already a series of newly founded communities lined the Orontes valley and the Syro-Phoenician coast, like “a brilliant necklace of pearls”. Jerusalem with its old traditions will be destroyed and Antioch, a city open to all currents, will take over and open Christianity to the nations.
Antioch in Syria exercised a profound influence on Paul: it became, for more than 20 years, his chosen homeland and the starting point of his three great missionary journeys.