Antioch's First Christian Church
the Roman city of Antiochia. This church is actually a cave in
the side of a mountain bordering the city. Christianity was
brought to Antioch by Saint Cyrus soon after the martyrdom
of Saint Stephen (Acts 11:19-21). The church in Jerusalem
sent Saint Barnabas to Antioch and Saint Paul soon followed
him. The community in Antioch was the first to call
themselves Christian (Acts 11:22, 25-26). Saint Peter also
came and lived in the city for some time (Galatians 2:11).
Since then, Antioch grew into a Christian Patriarchate and
has been home to several saints, including Saint John
Chrysostom.