Antioch

In the Bible

The New Testament mentions two cities that share the same name.

Syrian Antioch

• Acts 6:5: Among the seven men appointed to serve by the Jerusalem church was "Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch."
• Acts 11:19-26: After the martyrdom of Stephen, some of the scattered believers proclaimed Jesus to Greeks as well in Antioch, and many believed. The Jerusalem church sent Barnabas, who brought Saul (Paul) from Tarsus, and the two taught there together for a year. It was here that the disciples were first called "Christians" (Acts 11:26).
• Acts 11:27-30: After hearing a prophecy that a famine would come, the believers sent relief (aid in goods or money) to the believers in Judea.
• Acts 13:1-3: While the church was fasting and praying, it set apart Barnabas and Saul and sent them out at the direction of the Holy Spirit. The first missionary journey began here.
• Acts 14:26-15:35: A dispute arose over whether Gentile believers must also receive circumcision, and this dispute led to the Council of Jerusalem. A letter containing the council's decision was delivered to Antioch.
• Acts 15:36-41; 18:22-23: The second and third missionary journeys also began from Antioch.
• Galatians 2:11-14: When Cephas (Peter) withdrew from eating with Gentile believers, Paul rebuked him publicly.

Pisidian Antioch

During their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas preached in the synagogue here (Acts 13:14-52; the sermon is in 13:16-41). Although they were driven out because of Jewish opposition, they later returned to strengthen the believers (Acts 14:21-22). The city is also generally regarded as one of the places of persecution mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:11.

Background

Syrian Antioch was founded around 300 BC by Seleucus I and is said to have been named after his father, Antiochus. Cities of the same name were founded in many places, and Pisidian Antioch was one of them. In the Roman period, Syrian Antioch was the capital of the province of Syria and is reported to have ranked as the greatest city after Rome and Alexandria. It also had a large Jewish community. The site is present-day Antakya in Türkiye, which suffered severe damage in the 2023 earthquake. Pisidian Antioch was a Roman colony and at that time belonged to the province of Galatia.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Antioch does not appear in the Protestant Old Testament canon. In the apocryphal books of Maccabees, it appears as the center of the Seleucid dynasty. Acts portrays it as the second center of the Gentile mission after Jerusalem. It was a place where Jews and Gentiles formed one church, and the place where a major question of the early church—how Gentile believers should be received—first came to the fore.

Interpretation and Debated Issues

• The name "Christian": Scholars are divided over whether it was a nickname given by outsiders or a name the believers used for themselves.
• Textual variant in 11:20: Some manuscripts read "Greeks," while others read "Hellenists" (Greek-speaking Jews). The New Korean Revised Version follows the reading "Greeks."
• The Antioch incident (Galatians 2): Scholars differ on whether this incident took place before or after the council in Acts 15. Protestants often read this passage as support for justification by faith and cite it as an example showing that even an apostle could be rebuked. Catholics have explained it as merely a lapse in Peter's conduct, not an error in teaching.
• Traditions outside the text: The traditions that Luke was a native of Antioch and that Peter was the first bishop of Antioch do not appear in the biblical text. In the ancient church, Antioch was known as the church of Bishop Ignatius and was the center of the "Antiochene school," known for its literal and historical interpretation of Scripture.

In the Korean Church

Acts 13:1-3 is frequently used in missionary commissioning services and in Mission Sunday sermons. The expression "a church like the church at Antioch" commonly refers to a church engaged in mission, and many churches include "Antioch" in their names.