Attalia
Attalia was the coastal port from which Paul and Barnabas set sail back to Antioch in Syria at the conclusion of their first missionary journey, having passed through Perga on the way down from the interior of Asia Minor. Upon arriving home, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done with them, and specifically that he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles - a report that would soon prompt the theological debate at the Jerusalem Council over whether Gentile believers needed to keep the Mosaic Law. Attalia's role as the closing waypoint of this journey marks the transition from active mission work back to the sending church's home base.
Details
- Region
- Pamphylia
- Modern Location
- Antalya, Turkey
Key Passages
Sailing Home from Attalia
Acts 14:25-26
The journey's end at Attalia leads directly into the missionaries' report to the Antioch church about God opening the door of faith to the Gentiles.
25nd when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia:
Did You Know?
Attalia is modern Antalya, today a city of over a million and Turkey's biggest Mediterranean resort - the missionaries' quiet departure port now hosts millions of arrivals.
The city was founded by and named for King Attalus II of Pergamum - the same dynasty that gave Revelation's Pergamum its throne.
From Attalia the missionaries sailed home 'to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled' - the first mission's closing line.