Turkey's Role in the Spread of Christianity

 

Archaeologists discovered five small 1,300-year-old loaves of bread at the Topraktepe archaeological site in Turkey. One of them bears the image of Jesus Christ the Sower. This loaf was intended for use as Communion bread. 

The part of Southern Europe where Turkey is located was Christianized very early. Certainly, long before the emergence of Islam as a world religion. This Communion bread testifies to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist among the Christians of Turkey. 

It was in Antioch Turkey that Christ's followers were first called "Christians" (Acts 11:26). The evangelistic work of Paul and Barnabas was promoted by the leaders of the Antioch church.

St. Paul was from Tarsus in Turkey. Paul enjoyed a classical Greek education in his hometown, a recognized center of learning, with a famous university that the Greek geographer Strabo considered better than the academies of Athens and Alexandria. The Stoic philosopher Athenodorus lived and taught in Tarsus before Paul was born, and Paul was acquainted with his teachings on the conscience. Athenodorus said that, “Everyman's conscience is his god.” The conscience does not occur in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). However, Paul makes abundant use of the Greek word for conscience in his letters to the early churches.

The Orontes in Turkey marked the northern boundary of Amur-ru. The Orontes (Draco) was the chief river of the Levant and had sufficient depth for boats to sail up the river from the Mediterranean near modern Beirut in Lebanon. This was aided by the north-flowing currents. Meroe on the Orontes was a fortress on the spur of Mount Silpius overlooking the Orontes. It was named IO, which designated it as a “pillared place dedicated to the Creator.” The O is a solar symbol and the emblem of the Creator. IO had a twin city on the opposite side of the river: AntIO, known as Antioch. Meroe on the Orontes was thousands of miles from Meroe on the Nile. Meroe in Turkey was the farthest outpost of the Egyptian Empire, and the city would have had Amur-ru. "Amur-ru" is also the name of the northernmost district of Egypt's empire and it included the coastal region from Ugarit to Byblos.

Twin cities were established along major rivers such the Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates, and the Orontes. The twin cities of Nekhen and Nekheb, were on the Nile River, and the twin cities of Pe and Dep are examples. Pe and Dep merged into the city that the Greeks later called Buto. Buto sits on the Butic River, a tributary of the Nile Delta.

Related reading: Excavation finds 1,300-year-old breads stamped with Christ | The Jerusalem Post; The Amorites: Royal Hebrew Scribes?; Horite and Sethite Mounds