Huon

The Book of Acts has been dated very early (before 70 CE), or at an intermediate date (80 - 100 CE), or even a late date (140 - 150 CE). I shall not give an opinion about this problem, because I know almost nothing about it.

First, I will remind the missions of Paul.

During his first mission, Paul (Acts 13:1-14:27) went to Antioch of Syria, Seleucia, sailed to Cyprus, Salamis, Paphos, Perge in Pamphylia, Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, back to Lystra, Iconium, Antioch of Pisidia, Perge, Attalia, From there they sailed to Antioch of Syria.

During his second mission, Paul (Acts 15:36-18:22) went to Antioch of Syria, Derbe, Lystra, passing by Mysia, Troas, Samothrace, Neapolis, Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, Amphipolis, Apollonia, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and back to Corinth, Cenchrea, Ephesus, Caesarea.

During his third mission, Paul (Acts 18:23-21:26) went to Ephesus, Caesarea, Antioch, Galatia, Phrygia, Assos, Mitylene, Chios, Samos, Miletus, Cos, Rhodes, Patara, Tyre, Caesarea, Jerusalem.

My question is this : What were the results of these missions, in terms of developement of the christian local groups?

About Mysia, Derbe, Lystra, Seleucia Pieria, nothing known.
About Perge, a bishop present at the Council of Ancyra (312).
About Troas, a bishop Marinus in 325.
Paphos : The first known bishop, Cyril, assisted in 325 at the Council of Nicæa;

First town, Antioch of Syria.
The bishops of Antioch are known.
Evodius bishop 53-96, ca. 53-ca. 69
Ignatius bishop 96-114, ca. 70–ca. 107
Heron bishop 114-126, (107–127)
Cornelius bishop 127-151, (127–154)
Eros bishop 151-169, (154–169)
Theophilus bishop 169-177, (ca. 169–ca. 182)
Maximus I bishop 177-191, (182–191)

Huon

Not very brilliant...

Huon

Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia.

Note the precision of the dates. The letter from Polycarp of Smyrna was composed around 110 to 140, and arrived around 160. The mailmen were not very fast, at that time.

Note also the growth of the community between 61 and 160. The local christians concluded that Paul had founded their community. Not so sure ?:devil1:

Huon

Excerpts from Catholic Encyclopaedia
Christianity was first preached in Athens by St. Paul, about the year 53. The Acts mention, however, that a few believed in Paul's teaching. It seems that a Christian community was rapidly formed, although for a considerable time it did not possess a numerous membership.

The commoner tradition names Dionysius the Areopagite as the first bishop of the Christian Athenians. (see lower)

Another tradition names Hierotheus the Thesmothete. (see lower)

The successors of the first bishop were not all Athenians by lineage. They are catalogued as Narkissos, Publius, and Quadratus. Narkissos is stated to have come from Palestine, and Publius from Malta. In some lists Narkissos is omitted.

It is probable that the early Church of Athens did not have many martyrs.
{what a pity !}

Under Decius (249-251), we find recorded in the catalogue of martyrs the names of Herakleios, Benedimos, Pavlinos, and Leonides with his followers, the holy woman Charissa, and her companions. One reason why the martyrs were few is that the Christians were also few. (around 250) Besides, the spirit of the Athenian pagans and philosophers was not one of blood.

Dionysius the Areopagite
By "Dionysius the Areopagite" is usually understood the judge of the Areopagus who, as related in Acts 17:34, was converted to Christianity by the preaching of St. Paul, and according to Dionysius of Corinth (Eusebius, Church History III.4) was Bishop of Athens.

Deep obscurity still hovers about the person of the Pseudo-Areopagite. External evidence as to the time and place of his birth, his education, and latter occupation is entirely wanting. Our only source of information regarding this problematic personage is the writings themselves. The clues furnished by the first appearance and by the character of the writings enable us to conclude that the author belongs at the very earliest to the latter half of the fifth century, and that, in all probability, he was a native of Syria.

{This is the description of the first bishop of the Athenians, after 53 CE, installed by Paul}.

Another tradition names Hierotheus the Thesmothete.

Hierotheus the Thesmothete.
All attempts to establish as historical a personality corresponding to the Hierotheus who appears in the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius are rendered abortive by the fact, now definitely proven, that those writings, with intent to mislead, weave into their narrative various fictitious personalities of the Apostolic Era, such as Peter, James, John, Timothy, Carpus, and others. Indeed the author would have betrayed himself had he named and depicted in such sharp outlines a real Hierotheus who lived in his own time (the end of the fifth century), and with whom he was on intimate terms. As a matter of fact, no trace of any Hierotheus resembling the portrait drawn by Pseudo-Dionysius can be found outside the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius.

What a pity ! The first bishops of Athens disappear.
Paul was not very successful about 53 CE.

Huon

Excerpts from Catholic Encyclopaedia

It was through the Jews that Christianity was first introduced into Ephesus.

The original community was under the leadership of Apollos (1 Corinthians 1:12).
[What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ." ]

They were disciples of St. John the Baptist, and were converted by Aquila and Priscilla.

Then came St. Paul, who lived three years at Ephesus to establish and organize the new church;
Eventually he was obliged to depart, in consequence of a sedition stirred up by the goldsmith Demetrius and other makers of ex-votoes for the temple of Artemis (Acts 18:24 sqq.; 19:1 sqq.).

{imagine a preacher of Scientology at Lourdes or Fatima. Very successful, indeed :redface:}

The Church of Ephesus was committed to his disciple, St. Timothy, a native of the city (1 Timothy 1, 3; 2 Timothy 1, 18; 4:12 Pastorales 100-150 CE). When he was over eighty years of age, Timothy was mortally beaten by the pagans.

The Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians was not perhaps addressed directly to them; it may be only a circular letter sent by him to several churches. The sojourn and death of the Apostle St. John at Ephesus are not mentioned in the New Testament, but both are attested as early as the latter part of the second century by St. Irenæus (Adv. Haer., III, iii, 4), Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus ca.190 (Eusebius, Church History V.22), Clement of Alexandria (died about 215), the "Acta Joannis", and a little earlier by St. Justin and the Montanists. Byzantine tradition has always shown at Ephesus the tomb of the Apostle John.

Jeffrey Gibson

Maybe I missed it, but what point are you trying to make with what you are posting?

Jeffrey

Huon

My question is still this : What were the results of these missions, in terms of developement of the christian local groups?

From what I found, Paul was very unsuccessful. The places and the epoch were against the development of his sect. The pagan population still believed in their gods, the emperor, the governors, prefects, and priests had nothing to do with that small belief.

Antoninus Pius (138-161) was really pious.

Marcus Aurelius (161-180) was a stoïc. During his reign, the empire began to stagger, with invasions of Germanic tribes, a war against the Parthians.

Commodus (180-192) was a megalomaniac emperor, who was strangled in his bath. Upon his death, the Senate declared him a public enemy (a de facto damnatio memoriae).

The Year of the Five Emperors refers to the year 193, in which there were five claimants for the title of Roman Emperor. The five were Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus (193-211).

Elagabalus (218-222), was Syrian on his mother's side, the son of Julia Soaemias and Sextus Varius Marcellus. In his youth he served as a priest of the god Elagabal (in Latin, Elagabalus) in the hometown of his mother's family, Emesa (Homs).

From the beginning of the 3rd century, the title of emperor was worth what the emperor was worth, the official religion was decaying, and new religions could develop, the Mithraic Mysteries for instance. The corridas are a remnant of this religion.

outhouse

You need to take things into proper context.

Paul had no churches, these were houses, "patres familias" and he didnt have that many.

Nor was he the only teacher.



early on he was nothing more then a known martyr

Tenorikuma

Little, if any, of Acts is historical. Might as well ask what effect Robin Hood's banditry had on the price of ale.

Huon

Acts is as historical as the rest of the NT. The oldest manuscripts of the NT date from the 4th to the 6th centuries.