BSN: Church Locations Named in the New Testament

Back to BSN Glossary: Places

Notes
  • Stay aware that in the Bible church always refers to a congregation or gathering of believers in the gospel – never to a building. Church buildings came later.
  • Gathering places for believers were homes, synagogue buildings, and any other available structure (e.g., “the school of Tyrannus” in Ephesus – Acts 19:9-10).
  • Regions consist of multiple cities and therefore multiple churches (1 Cor 16:1, 19; 2 Cor 8:1; Gal 1:2, 22; 1 Th 2:14; Rev 1:4).
  • With some exceptions, only one chapter-verse citation is given even though multiple or even many citations of a named location may exist.
Locations
Houses:

(biblical order)

  1. A house with an upper room (Jerusalem) – Acts 1:12-15 – This is the house where the 12- disciples met during the ten days between Jesus’ ascension into heaven and when the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. It also could have been the house of John Mark (see “Mary’s” house below), and/or the house in which the Lord’s Supper took place (Mk 14:15; Lk 22:12).
  2. Cornelius’s (Caesarea) – Acts 10
  3. Mary’s (Jerusalem; this Mary was the mother of John Mark) – Acts 12:12
  4. Lydia’s (Philippi) – Acts 16:14-15, 40
  5. Prisca’s and Aquila’s (Rome) – Rom 16:3-5 (and earlier in Ephesus per 1 Cor 16:19, and perhaps Corinth prior to that per Acts 18:1-3)
  6. Titius Justus’s (Corinth) – Acts 18:7-11
  7. Philip’s (Caesarea) – Acts 21:8
  8. Caesar’s (Rome) – Phil 4:22 – This was when Paul was imprisoned in Rome. This reference does not necessarily mean that Caesar or any member of his immediate family were involved, but certainly it was a large household that included many servants, high and low. What a feather in the Lord’s cap that Caesar’s palace was housing believers even during the 1st century!
  9. Nympha’s (Laodicea? Colossae? Hierapolis? – these cities were very close to each other) – Col 4:15
  10. Philemon’s (Colossae) – Phile 1:2
Cities, Towns, Villages:

(alphabetical order)

  1. Antioch (aka Syrian Antioch) – Acts 13:1 (in the region called Syria)
  2. Athens – Acts 17:15-16, 22, 34 (in the region called Achaia or Greece)
  3. Attalia – Acts 14:24-25 (in the region called Pamphylia)
  4. Berea – Acts 17:10-12 (in the region called Macedonia)
  5. Caesarea – Acts 18:22 (in the region called the Plain of Sharon)
  6. Cenchrea – Rom 16:1 (in the region called Achaia or Greece)
  7. Colossae – Col 1:2 (in the region called Phrygia)
  8. Corinth – 1 Cor 1:2 (in the region called Achaia or Greece)
  9. Cyrene – Acts 11:19-20 (in the region called Cyrenaica, which is NE Africa)
  10. Damascus – Acts 9: 2, 10, 19; 22:5 (in the region called Syria)
  11. Derbe – Acts 14:6 (in the region called Lycaonia)
  12. Ephesus – Eph 1:1 (in the region called Asia)
  13. Hierapolis – Col 4:13 (in the region called Phrygia)
  14. Iconium – Acts 14:1-4 (in the region called Lycaonia)
  15. Jerusalem – Acts 1:4; 8:1; 11:22; 15:4 (in the region called Judea)
  16. Joppa – Acts 9:42; 10:23 (in the region called the Plain of Sharon)
  17. Laodicea – Col 2:1; Rev 1:11 (in the region called Asia)
  18. Lydda – Acts 9:32 (in the region called the Plain of Sharon)
  19. Lystra – Acts 14:6 (in the region called Lycaonia)
  20. Market of Appius – Acts 28:15 (in the region called Italy)
  21. Miletus – Acts 20:15-17; 2 Tim 4:20 (in the region called Asia)
  22. Nicopolis – Tit 3:12 (in the region of Epirus, which was in western Greece)
  23. Perga – Acts 14:24-25 (in the region called Pamphylia)
  24. Pergamum – Rev 1:11 (in the region called Asia)
  25. Philadelphia – Rev 1:11 (in the region called Asia)
  26. Philippi – Phil 1:1 (in the region called Macedonia)
  27. Pisidian Antioch – Acts 13:14-50 (in the region called Pisidia)
  28. Ptolemais – Acts 21:7 (in the region called Phoenicia)
  29. Puteoli – Acts 28:13-14 (in the region called Italy)
  30. Rome – Rom 1:7 (in the region called Italy)
  31. Samaria – Acts 8:5-8 (in the region called Samaria)
  32. Sardis – Rev 1:11 (in the region called Asia)
  33. Sidon – Acts 27:3 (in the region called Phoenicia)
  34. Smyrna – Rev 1:11 (in the region called Asia)
  35. Tarsus – Acts 9:30; 11:25 (in the region called Cilicia)
  36. Thessalonica – 1 Th 1:1 (in the region called Macedonia)
  37. Three Inns – Acts 28:15 (in the region called Italy)
  38. Thyatira – Rev 1:11 (in the region called Asia)
  39. Troas – Acts 16:8-11; 20:5-13 – (in the region called Asia)
  40. Tyre – Acts 21:3-4 (in the region called Phoenicia)

Note 1: Each of the cities, towns, and villages named above are located in one of the regions named in the section below except for Cyrene and Nicopolis, whose regions (Cyrenaica and Epirus, respectively) are not named explicitly in the New Testament.

Note 2: Peter writes his first letter from “Babylon” (1 Pet 5:13) but this is more likely a spiritual reference to Rome than a literal reference to Babylon, a city that was in ruins during Peter’s time. This is why it is not listed above.

Regions:

(alphabetical order)

  1. Achaia (aka Greece, as in Acts 20:2) [3] – 2 Corinthians 1:1
  2. Asia [9] – 1 Pet 1:1
  3. Bithynia – 1 Pet 1:1
  4. Cappadocia – 1 Pet 1:1
  5. Cilicia [1] – Acts 15:22, 40
  6. Crete – Tit 1:5
  7. Cyprus – Acts 11:19-20; 15:40
  8. Ethiopia (implied) – Acts 8:25-39
  9. Galatia – Gal 1:2
  10. Galilee – Acts 9:31
  11. Italy [4] – Heb 13:24
  12. Judea [1] – Acts 8:1; 1 Th 2:14
  13. Lycaonia [3] – Acts 14:6
  14. Macedonia [3] – Acts 16:9-10; 2 Cor 8:1
  15. Malta – Acts 28:1-11 (a Mediterranean island south of Italy)
  16. Pamphylia [2] – Acts 14:24-25
  17. Phoenicia [3] – Acts 11:19; 15:3
  18. Phrygia [2] – Acts 18:23
  19. Pisidia [1] – Acts 13:49
  20. Pontus – 1 Pet 1:1
  21. Samaria [1] – Acts 9:31
  22. Sharon [3] – Acts 9:25
  23. Syria [2] – Acts 15:22, 40

Note: The number in brackets indicates the number of cities, towns, and villages named in the section above are found in this region. This information was obtained in part from the New Testament and in part from ancient maps and other historical sources.

Church Locations Not Named:
  • Though we cannot include them in the counts, there are locations mentioned in the New Testament which suggest that churches could have been established there either before or shortly after the reference was made – such as in the cases of…
    • Acts 2:9-11 – Word of Messiah’s coming would have been taken back to these locations by those who believed. Some of these locations are named elsewhere, as shown in one of the lists above.
    • Acts 8:40 – Azotus (Ashdod? city)?
Sources Consulted:
  • Paul’s Letters (7 city locations)
  • The churches of Revelation (7 city locations)
  • 1 Peter 1:1 (5 regions)
  • Concordance searches of
    • [“church that”]
    • [church house]
  • Review of Acts through Revelation
Verses worth remembering:
  • Acts 14:23 – Indicates that the appointment of elders in every church was routine. See also note below on Titus 1:5.
  • Acts 15:36 – Indicates that there was close to a one-to-one correspondence between preaching a gospel to a city and a church – even if only in one house – resulting from that effort.
  • Tit 1:5 – Indicates that it was routine for the apostles to appoint elders in every city. See also note above on Acts 14:23.
Miscellaneous Notes:
  • Philippi was about 115 miles NE of Thessalonica.

Question or Comment