I saw an article on Sixty Minutes that said that Turkey was the location of the beginning of Christianity. There is a man by the name of Bartholmew who lives in Istanbul in a group of buildings similar to the Vatican but has no where near the opulence or support of Christianity. He claimed to be the Bishop and the religious leader of 300,000,000 Christians in the middle of the Muslim world. Please someone explain this to me. I find it fascinating that I as a 79 year old Christian have not heard of this man.

Here's the print version of that 60 Minutes story --

Patriarch Bartholomew Feels "Crucified" - 60 Minutes - CBS News

The first Christian church was officially started in Ephesus by Apollos,a disciple of John the baptist. The beloved apostle John later became the pastor of this church,after Paul had divided it after Apollos went to Corinth. This church did not last however,as it was attacked by the Gauls @170 c.e. the oldest remaining Church that can prove it's existence from the time of the primary apostleship is the church of the east @ Damascus,started by Thomas. It was this church which Saul of tarsus was attempting to reach to persecute Jewish believers in Jesus. Many have claimed to be original,but none have been so readily able to prove it. See www. Aramaic.org

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Originally Posted by Millie2730

I saw an article on Sixty Minutes that said that Turkey was the location of the beginning of Christianity. There is a man by the name of Bartholmew who lives in Istanbul in a group of buildings similar to the Vatican but has no where near the opulence or support of Christianity. He claimed to be the Bishop and the religious leader of 300,000,000 Christians in the middle of the Muslim world. Please someone explain this to me. I find it fascinating that I as a 79 year old Christian have not heard of this man.

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Millie - this is sort a technical issue in trying to resolve the matter of which country gave birth to Christianity.

First off, the term "Christian" was not some agreed upon name that Jesus or the Apostles came up with. It was a term used in a disparaging manner towards those who were followers of The Way or followers of the Christ. When the term was used in that manner, it was not as a term of endearment but as a term of insult. Followers of the Christ were maligned for it and as the teachings of Christ and the Apostles began to grow in notoriety, it became easy to identify those who held to such teachings as "Christians", sort of the way our culture today uses the term "Evangelical." In most circles, you would never want to be thought of as an Evangelical because it carries such a negative connotation.

Christianity or the term Christian as a concept, originated in Antioch according to the following passage: "And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch." (Acts 11:23-26) But interestingly enough, Acts 11:19 talks about how the scattering of people due to the persecution of Stephen brought people to places as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch (where modern Turkey is). So the establishment of "Christianity" if you will, occurred prior to Antioch because the Apostles were already "preaching the Lord Jesus." And where was Stephen and the others who were scattered because of persecution? Why, they were in Jerusalem. Why were they there? Because Jesus was a Jew; and he died in Jerusalem and was raised from the dead in Jerusalem; and his disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit of God; and it was from Jerusalem that The Way of God was to be brought to the world.

Plain and simple, Israel was the birthplace of "Christianity", although that was not a term the Apostles coined. It later became an accepted term for them because as Paul puts it "We are fools for Christ's sake." But what is Christianity but the Way of God made clear through the revelation of the Son of God to men who once dwelt in darkness.

I'm sure there a number of places in the world where Christianity exists without people in western society being aware of it. Who would have though one of the largest christian churches in the world is in korea The christian population in a number of Muslim countries is 1 or 2 %, a remnant, but continuing.

Jesus founded the Christian church in Judea but people were first called Christians in Antioch which is in Syria, prior to that they were known as followers of the Way. We in the west don't know much about parts of Christianity particularly the Orthodox branch. I wouldn't believe everything that secular sources say about Christianity, they have an incomplete understanding and sometimes an agenda