The Journeys of Paul the Apostle
The journeys of Paul the Apostle, as the New Testament relates in the Book of Acts, started with his conversion experience on the way to Damascus, after which instead of seeking to thwart the growing Christian movement, he helped spread it. His four journeys by land and sea across great lengths of the Mediterranean and over vast expanses of land in Asia and Europe totaled over an estimated 16,000 km (10,000 mi).
The Journeys of Paul the Apostle, c. 55 CE
Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)
Paul's First Missionary Journey
After persecution in Jerusalem, Antioch was one of the places to which Christians fled, and it was from there Paul began his first missionary journey. Annexed by Pompey the Great in 64 CE and made the Roman provincial capital of Syria, with an estimated population of 250,000, Antioch was one of the primary cities of the East, along with Alexandria and Constantinople. Located at the northeast end of the Mediterranean on the Persian Royal Road, Antioch benefited from its location at the end of the Silk Road and its proximity to Greece, Anatolia, and Italy. As Hughs and Jones mention, not only was "its wealth derived from being a center of civil, military, and later ecclesiastical administration of much of the Near East but also from its position on the commercial road from Asia to the Mediterranean" (103).
Besides its own wine and olive oil production and as a center for the fulling of cloth products, silk from China, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, dye-works from the Levant, and weaved silk from Damascus could all have found their way through Antioch for distribution throughout the northern Mediterranean areas. As it lay on the Orontes River and at the edge of a fertile plain, Antioch communicated commercially with the harbor of Seleucia 26 km (16 mi) downstream on the Mediterranean. As common travelers in ancient times hitched their rides on merchant vessels, the water portion of Paul's trip was aboard a cargo ship performing trade transactions. Thus, it was at Seleucia that Paul boarded a cargo ship to the province of Asia, stopping at the island of Cyprus.
Cyprus, with a prominent location at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, was also known for its wine and olive oil production. A scenario for trade would have been a combination of Eastern goods loaded alongside refined and agricultural products accumulated at Antioch. Then, with a stop at Cyprus for partial distribution, Cyprus' products would have been added for final distribution in Asia.
With fellow evangelist Barnabas and Barnabas' nephew, John Mark, Paul first landed at Salamis on the eastern end of Cyprus after leaving the port city of Seleucia and sailing west toward Asia. Like with many of his subsequent stops, Paul first visited the local synagogue, attempting a conversion of the Jews to Christianity. From Salamis, heading west, walking nearly the length of Cyprus, Paul and Barnabas came to Paphos, their point of departure for Asia. At Paphos, the proconsul Sergius Paulus would become a convert.
Paul the Apostle's First Missionary Journey (c. 46-48 CE)
Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)
Heading to Asia from Cyprus, Paul's ship stopped at Perga in Pamphylia, in southwestern Turkey today. From Perga, John Mark departed for Jerusalem as Paul and Barnabas pressed on into Asia. At their first stop in Antioch of Pisidia, at the synagogue, Paul preached the history of Israel as he weaved in the story of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth, said to be a descendant of David, as the resurrected Savior, son of God. Though Paul and Barnabas initially gained Jewish and Gentile converts, a faction of opposing Jews expelled them from the city.
At Iconium, with similarly mixed results on learning of a plot to kill them, Paul went on to Lystra. As many in Lystra were worshipers of gods and their idols, Paul preached they should turn from worshiping "things" to worshiping the "living God" (Acts 14:15). When some hostile Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over, both groups stoned Paul. Thinking he was dead, they dragged Paul to the outskirts of the city. When some brethren came to retrieve the body, remarkably Paul had recovered and went back into town. The next day, Paul traveled east for Derbe. With his mission ending on a more positive note, large numbers rallied at Derbe to Paul's message. Deciding to head home, retracing their steps through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, after appointing elders in each church, the apostles went on to Perga; then, after preaching there a bit, they boarded a ship for a short junket west to the port city of Attallia, then from there they sailed back to Seleucia, then traveled up along the Orontes to Antioch.
