The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as
The Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and
The Seven Churches of Asia (referring to the Roman province of Asia, not the entire continent), are seven major
churchesChristian Church and church Christian Church and church Christian Church and church (Greek kyriakon, "thing belonging to the Lord"; also ekklesia (Latinized as ecclesia, "assembly") are used to denote both a Christian association of people and a place of worship. In the phenomenological sense there...
of
Early ChristianityEarly Christianity is commonly known as the Christianity of the roughly three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus and the First Council of Nicaea in 325....
, as mentioned in the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
Book of RevelationThe Book of Revelation, also called the Revelation of St. John, the Apocalypse of John, and the Revelation of Jesus Christ, is the last book of the New Testament. It may be shortened to Revelation but never Revelations...
and written to by
Ignatius of AntiochIgnatius of Antioch was among the Apostolic Fathers, was the third Bishop and Patriarch of Antioch, and was possibly a student of John the Apostle. En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of very early Christian theology...
. All seven sites are in modern-day
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
and no longer have significant Christian populations since they were emptied of Christians under the
Treaty of LausanneThe Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire by annulment of the Treaty of Sèvres that was signed by the Constantinople-based Ottoman government; as the consequence of the...
.
The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as
The Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and
The Seven Churches of Asia (referring to the Roman province of Asia, not the entire continent), are seven major
churchesChristian Church and church Christian Church and church Christian Church and church (Greek kyriakon, "thing belonging to the Lord"; also ekklesia (Latinized as ecclesia, "assembly") are used to denote both a Christian association of people and a place of worship. In the phenomenological sense there...
of
Early ChristianityEarly Christianity is commonly known as the Christianity of the roughly three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus and the First Council of Nicaea in 325....
, as mentioned in the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
Book of RevelationThe Book of Revelation, also called the Revelation of St. John, the Apocalypse of John, and the Revelation of Jesus Christ, is the last book of the New Testament. It may be shortened to Revelation but never Revelations...
and written to by
Ignatius of AntiochIgnatius of Antioch was among the Apostolic Fathers, was the third Bishop and Patriarch of Antioch, and was possibly a student of John the Apostle. En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of very early Christian theology...
. All seven sites are in modern-day
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
and no longer have significant Christian populations since they were emptied of Christians under the
Treaty of LausanneThe Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire by annulment of the Treaty of Sèvres that was signed by the Constantinople-based Ottoman government; as the consequence of the...
. In Revelation, on the island of
PatmosPatmos is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. One of the northernmost islands of the Dodecanese complex, it has a population of 2,984 and an area of 34.05 km . The highest point is Profitis Ilias, 269 meters above sea level. The Municipality of Patmos, which includes the offshore islands of...
,
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
, Jesus Christ instructs his servant
JohnJohn of Patmos is the name given to the author of the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. According to the text of Revelation, the author, who gives his name as "John," is living on the Greek island of Patmos. Many believe John was in exile. In Revelation, he writes to the seven Christian...
to:
It should be understood that "churches" in this context refers to the community of Christians living in each city, and not merely to the building or buildings in which they gathered for worship.
The seven churches are located in:
- Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Roman and Greek city on the west coast of Anatolia, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek period....
(also see Church of MaryThe Church of Mary is an ancient Christian cathedral dedicated to the Theotokos , located in Ephesus, Turkey. It is also known as the Church of the Councils because two councils of importance to the history of Early Christianity are assumed to have been held within...
)
- Smyrna
Smyrna was the ancient city now in Turkey, represented by modern İzmir. Located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia and aided by its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence before the Classical Era....
- Pergamum
Pergamon, Pergamum or Pérgamo was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, in Mysia, today located from the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus , that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty,...
- Thyatira
Thyateira is the ancient name of the modern Turkish city of Akhisar . The Turkish equivalent of Thyateira is Tepe Mezarligi. It lies in the far west of Turkey, south of Istanbul and almost due east of Athens. It is about from the Mediterranean.-History:In classical times, Thyatira stood on the...
- Sardis
Sardis, also Sardes , modern Sart in the Manisa province of Turkey, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, one of the important cities of the Persian Empire, the seat of a proconsul under the Roman Empire, and the metropolis of the province Lydia in later Roman and Byzantine times...
(the See of SardisThe See of Sardis was an episcopal see in Sardis. It was one of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse, held by metropolitan bishops since the middle to late 1st century, with jurisdiction over the province of Lydia...
)
- Philadelphia
Alaşehir is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is situated in the valley of the Kuzuçay , at the foot of the Bozdağ...
- and Laodicea
Laodicea on the Lycus was the ancient metropolis of Phrygia Pacatiana , built on the river Lycus, in Anatolia near the modern village of Eskihisar , Denizli Province, Turkey.-History:Laodicea is situated on the long spur...
, near DenizliDenizli is a growing industrial city in the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about a hundred meters, in southwestern Turkey, in the country's Aegean Region....
(see Laodicean ChurchThe Laodicean Church was a Christian community established in the ancient city of Laodicea . The church was established in the earliest period of Christianity, and is probably best known for being one of the seven churches addressed by name in the Book of Revelation The Laodicean Church was a...
)
Seven Messages
Chapters 2-3 of the Revelation had specific messages for each of these seven churches. These follow a common pattern: the Lord of hosts first addresses each church and identifies himself, then defines things that he knows about the church in question. After this a challenge or reproach is given, followed by a promise. In all seven cases the admonition is included, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches", although sometimes this comes before the promise and sometimes after.
Angels of the churches
St. John is shown seven candlesticks and in their midst, the
Son of ManThe phrase son of man is a primarily Semitic idiom that originated in Ancient Mesopotamia, used to denote humanity or self. The phrase is also used in Judaism and Christianity.-Ancient languages:In Sumerian, child of man is:*DUMU.LU.A...
holding seven stars. The candlesticks represent the seven churches; the stars, the angels of those churches. He is bidden to write to the respective angels of those churches and distribute to each his meed of praise or blame.
OrigenOrigen was an early Christian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished of the early fathers of the Christian Church. According to tradition, he is held to have been an Egyptian who taught in Alexandria, reviving the Catechetical School of Alexandria where Clement of Alexandria had...
explains that these are the guardian angels of the churches, a view upheld by
Henry AlfordHenry Alford was an English churchman, theologian, textual critic, scholar, poet, hymnodist, and writer.-Life:...
. But
EpiphaniusEpiphanius was the name of several early Christian scholars and ecclesiastics:*Saint Epiphanius of Pavia *Saint Epiphanius of Salamis , bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, author of Panarion...
explicitly rejects this view, and, in accordance with the imagery of the passage, explains it of the bishops. The comparison of a teacher to a star is scriptural.
Augustine of HippoAugustine of Hippo , Bishop of Hippo Regius, also known as St. Augustine or St. Austin, was an Algerian Berber philosopher and theologian....
's reason for interpreting angels of the churches as the prelates of the church is that St. John speaks of them as falling from their first charity which is not true of the angels.
states that "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches".
External links
See also
- Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions and churches which developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Northeastern Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity. The term is generally used in Western Christianity to...
- Summary of Christian eschatological differences
This is a general overview of the different eschatological interpretations of the Book of Revelation held by Christians. The differences are by no means monolithic as representing one group or another...
- Christianity in Anatolia during Roman times