Chapter VI - THE APPEAL TO THE WORLD

Summary

CYPRUS AND GALATIA

The appeal from the Hebrew Christians and their attempt to impose their beliefs on the whole Church, to the Jews of the Dispersion and the Gentile world, was inaugurated with due solemnity. A solemn service of prayer and fasting was held, at which Saul and Barnabas received in the customary form of the imposition of hands by the leading converts of Antioch the authorization and blessing of the community for the work they were about to undertake. They were accompanied on their venture by John Mark.

From Seleucia, the port of Antioch, the party proceeded to Salamis in Cyprus. The choice of the island was dictated by several considerations. In the first place it was natural to proceed with the work of evangelization on geographical lines, and the island formed an obvious extension of the area already touched by the work of the Apostles in Syria and Cilicia. Further, the Gospel had already been preached in Cyprus by the earliest refugees from Jerusalem, and it was desirable to organize the existing converts of the island into regular Churches and if possible to win them to the side of Antioch. Still more important was the fact that the existence of these Christians provided an excuse for the visit, since it was arguable that the original commission of Barnabas implied the duty of supervising all the work of the first evangelists outside Judaea and Samaria.