<P> The tradition of John the Apostle was strong in Anatolia (the near - east, part of modern Turkey, the western part was called the Roman province of Asia). The authorship of the Johannine works traditionally and plausibly occurred in Ephesus, c. 90 - 110, although some scholars argue for an origin in Syria . According to the New Testament, the Apostle Paul was from Tarsus (in south - central Anatolia) and his missionary journeys were primarily in Anatolia . The Book of Revelation, believed to be authored by John of Patmos (a Greek island about 30 miles off the Anatolian coast), mentions Seven churches of Asia . The First Epistle of Peter (1: 1--2) is addressed to Anatolian regions . On the southeast shore of the Black Sea, Pontus was a Greek colony mentioned three times in the New Testament . Inhabitants of Pontus were some of the very first converts to Christianity . Pliny, governor in 110, in his letters, addressed Christians in Pontus . Of the extant letters of Ignatius of Antioch considered authentic, five of seven are to Anatolian cities, the sixth is to Polycarp . Smyrna was home to Polycarp, the bishop who reportedly knew the Apostle John personally, and probably also to his student Irenaeus . Papias of Hierapolis is also believed to have been a student of John the Apostle . In the 2nd century, Anatolia was home to Quartodecimanism, Montanism, Marcion of Sinope, and Melito of Sardis who recorded an early Christian Biblical canon . After the Crisis of the Third Century, Nicomedia became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire in 286 . The Synod of Ancyra was held in 314 . In 325 the emperor Constantine convoked the first Christian ecumenical council in Nicaea and in 330 moved the capital of the reunified empire to Byzantium (also an early Christian center and just across the Bosphorus from Anatolia, later called Constantinople), referred to as the Byzantine Empire, which lasted till 1453 . The First seven Ecumenical Councils were held either in Western Anatolia or across the Bosphorus in Constantinople . </P> <P> Caesarea, on the seacoast just northwest of Jerusalem, at first Caesarea Maritima, then after 133 Caesarea Palaestina, was built by Herod the Great, c. 25--13 BC, and was the capital of Iudaea Province (6--132) and later Palaestina Prima . It was there that Peter baptized the centurion Cornelius, considered the first gentile convert . Paul sought refuge there, once staying at the house of Philip the Evangelist, and later being imprisoned there for two years (estimated to be 57--59). The Apostolic Constitutions (7.46) state that the first Bishop of Caesarea was Zacchaeus the Publican but the Catholic Encyclopedia claims that: "...there is no record of any bishops of Caesarea until the second century . At the end of this century a council was held there to regulate the celebration of Easter ." According to another Catholic Encyclopedia article, after Hadrian's siege of Jerusalem (c. 133), Caesarea became the metropolitan see with the bishop of Jerusalem as one of its "suffragans" (subordinates). Origen (d. 254) compiled his Hexapla there and it held a famous library and theological school, St. Pamphilus (d. 309) was a noted scholar - priest . St. Gregory the Wonder - Worker (d. 270), St. Basil the Great (d. 379), and St. Jerome (d. 420) visited and studied at the library which was later destroyed, probably by the Persians in 614 or the Saracens around 637 . The first major church historian, Eusebius of Caesarea, was a bishop, c. 314--339 . F.J.A. Hort and Adolf von Harnack have argued that the Nicene Creed originated in Caesarea . The Caesarean text - type is recognized by many textual scholars as one of the earliest New Testament types . </P> <P> Paphos was the capital of the island of Cyprus during the Roman years and seat of a Roman commander . In 45 AD, the apostles Paul and Barnabas (according to the Catholic Encyclopedia "a native of the island") came to Cyprus and reached Paphos preaching the Word of Christ, see also Acts 13: 4--13 . According to Acts, the apostles were persecuted by the Romans but eventually succeeded in convincing the Roman commander Sergius Paulus to renounce his old religion in favour of Christianity . Barnabas is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church . </P> <P> Damascus is the capital of Syria and claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world . According to the New Testament, the Apostle Paul was converted on the Road to Damascus . In the three accounts (Acts 9: 1--20, 22: 1--22, 26: 1--24), he is described as being led by those he was traveling with, blinded by the light, to Damascus where his sight was restored by a disciple called Ananias (who, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, is thought to have been the first Bishop of Damascus) then he was baptized . </P>

When did rome become the center of christianity