St. Barnabas 20. Antioch of Pisidia       After the departure of John Mark at the seaport town of Perga ( Ac 13:13 ), St. Paul and St. Barnabas made the five- or six-day journey up the coastal mountains on to the high plateau (mesa) where the city of Antioch of Pisidia (“of the hills”) was located ( Ac 13:14 ). Initially the road went through a thickly populated and beautiful coastal area (along today’s southern coast of Turkey), but as they climbed up, the trees thinned out, the houses became fewer, and the road more rocky and dangerous – not only from its steepness but also from outlaws. The road was so dangerous that merchants would only travel the route together and with armed guards. But Paul and Barnabas made it through safely.       They sought out the synagogue and on the Sabbath attended services ( Ac 13:14-16 ), Barnabas obviously gave way to Paul to speak. “Men of Israel, and you that fear God.” That was new! Paul acknowledged and ...

  St. Barnabas 19. Ordaining Lazarus as Bishop . Last week we left St. Barnabas, St. Paul (Saul), and St. Mark on the Island of Cyprus, traveling on their first missionary journey.  According to a tradition of the Eastern Church, when the missionaries were “going through the whole island” of Cyprus ( Ac 13:6 ), they traveled along the southern coastal region still called Larnaca today, and came to a town then called Kition, where St. Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead ( Jn 11:38-44 ) was then living. According to Scripture and the tradition of the Cypriot Church, St. Lazarus was compelled to seek refuge away from Jerusalem to avoid the anger of the high priests and the Pharisees, who wanted to kill him ( Jn 12:9-11 ). Like other believers ( Ac 11:19 ), Lazarus would have had to leave Judea to seek refuge in another country, and apparently made his way to the town of Kition on Cyprus (cf., Ac 11:19 ). When the Apostles Saul/Paul and Barnabas then came to Kition, the...

St. Barnabas 18. On to Cyprus. St. Barnabas, Saul, and Mark sailed from the Antiochian port city of Seleucia heading for the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, about 100 miles away. They land at Salamis along the eastern coast, initially preaching in the synagogues ( Ac 13:5 ). Salamis was Barnabas’ birthplace and would, in the future, be the place of his martyrdom, [1] so undoubtedly he (and his nephew Mark) would have had relatives there. Each Jewish synagogue in the diaspora (i.e., Gentile lands) had a hospice (overnight accommodation with kosher food) for traveling Jewish rabbis and messengers. We can imagine Barnabas, Saul, and Mark seeking the Salamis hospice out and staying there until Sabbath services when they might speak publically. Barnabas would likely also seek out family and old acquaintances to identify the baptized and share the Gospel with the unbaptized. On the Sabbath, then, perhaps Barnabas, as leader of the group, and on his “home turf,” would first give the messa...

  St. Barnabas 17. First Missionary Journey.       The Holy Spirit’s new call upon St. Barnabas’ life unfolds like this: “Now in the Church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul” ( Ac 13:1 ).       Notice, again, that St. Luke’s listing of prophets and teachers begin with Barnabas, presumably as lead.       Symeon, also called Niger (Latin for “black skin”), is mentioned next. Some think this is the same Simon of Cyrene (in Africa) who helped carry the Lord’s cross [1] ( Lk23:26 ), although the spelling is different. But the Eastern Church tradition is that it is Symeon, son of Cleopas, younger brother of St. Joseph, one of the 70, second Bishop of Jerusalem from 67 to 107 AD, and who died a martyr. [2]       Lucius of Cyrene some believe to be St. Luke [3], again with d...