Antioch in the First Centuries

Antioch:

It was a great centre of government and civilization. The Christian religion spread there almost from the beginning. Nicolas, one of the seven deacons in Jerusalem, was from Antioch (Acts 6:5). The seed of Christ's teaching was carried to Antioch by some disciples from Cyprus and Cyrene, who fled from Jerusalem during the persecution that followed upon the martyrdom of St. Stephen (Acts 11:19-20). They preached the teachings of Jesus, not only to the Jewish colony but also to the Greeks or Gentiles, and soon large numbers were converted. The mother-church of Jerusalem, when they heard of the occurrence, sent Barnabas there, who called Saul from Tarsus to Antioch (Acts 11:22-25). There they laboured for a whole year with such success that the followers of Christ were acknowledged as forming a distinct community, "so that at Antioch the disciples were first named Christians" (Acts 11: 26).

The Church of Antioch was fully organized almost from the beginning. It was one of the few original churches which preserved complete the catalogue of its bishops. The first of these bishops, Evodius, reaches back to the Apostolic age.

At a very early date the Christian community of Antioch became the central point of all the Christian interests in the East. After the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70) it was the real metropolis of Christianity in those countries.

In the meantime the number of Christians grew to such an extent, that in the first part of the fourth century Antioch was looked upon as practically a Christian city. Many churches were erected there for the accommodation of the worshippers of Christ. In the fourth century there was still a basilica called "the ancient" and "apostolic". It was probably one of the oldest architectural monuments of Christianity; an ancient tradition maintained that it was originally the house of Theophilus, the friend of St. Luke (Acts 1:1). There were also sanctuaries dedicated to the memory of the great Apostles, Peter, Paul, and John. Saint Augustine speaks (Sermo, ccc., n. 5) of a "basilica of the holy Machabees" at Antioch, a famous shrine from the fourth to the sixth century (Card. Rampolla, in "Bessarione", Rome, 1897-98, I-II).

Here are the first ten bishops of Antioch:

1 Apostle Peter

2 Evodius (c. 53–c. 69)

3 Ignatius (c. 70–c. 107), who was martyred in the reign of Trajan. His seven epistles are unique sources for the early Church.

4 Heron (107–127)

5 Cornelius (127–154)

6 Eros of Antioch (154–169)

7 Theophilus (c. 169–c. 182)

8 Maximus I of Antioch (182–191)

9 Serapion (191–211)

10 Asclepiades the Confessor (211–220)

It is Ignatius who is first recorded as using the word ‘Catholic’: in his Epistle to the Smyrnaeans he writes:

Chapter 7. Let us stand aloof from such heretics

They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again. Those, therefore, who speak against this gift of God, incur death in the midst of their disputes. But it were better for them to treat it with respect, that they also might rise again. It is fitting, therefore, that you should keep aloof from such persons, and not to speak of them either in private or in public, but to give heed to the prophets, and above all, to the Gospel, in which the passion [of Christ] has been revealed to us, and the resurrection has been fully proved. But avoid all divisions, as the beginning of evils.

Chapter 8. Let nothing be done without the bishop

See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid.

For the complete text of the epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, see http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0109.htm