Over to Europe
The Church’s first historian, when he came to tell of the gospel’s passage from Asia to Europe, included details unique to this story, and even a personal note. Referring to Paul and his companions, the text of Acts says,
They traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the Word in Asia. Approaching the border of Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let them. Having passed through Mysia, they came down to Troas. During the night, a vision came to Paul: There was some man of Macedonia, who stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Cross over to Macedonia and help us.” Once he had seen this vision, we immediately arranged for passage to Macedonia, concluding that God had summoned us to evangelize them. Setting sail from Troas, we made a straight run to Samothrace and, on the morrow, Neapolis. (Acts 16:6–11)
Prominent among the details in this account are the two interventions of the Holy Spirit to guide the missionaries along a particular geographical path. After young Timothy had joined the group at Lystra, Paul had in mind to move directly west, toward the province of Asia, but the Holy Spirit said “no.” He then attempted to travel north to Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit closed that door, too. It was then that Paul decided to go northwest. This time the Holy Spirit did not hinder them.
It has always seemed reasonable to me to suppose that this guidance of the Holy Spirit came through the grace of prophecy; one of the missionaries, after all, was Silas, already identified as a prophet (Acts 15:32,40).
Echoes of Troy & Xerxes
It was at Troas, apparently, that a fourth member joined the team, Luke himself, the author of this book; we observe that the narrative voice, in the final two verses of the quoted text, changes from “they” and “them” to “we” and “us.” Luke gently introduces himself.
Paul’s missionary band thus arrives in Troas, a peninsular extension of Anatolia into the Aegean Sea, extending from the Gulf of Edremit on the south to the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles to the north. This was the region of ancient Troy, the ruins of which lie at the very edge of the border between Asia and Europe. Here it was that Paul had the dream inviting him to extend the Christian mission into Europe.
Many layers of archaeological ruins at the site attest to the significance of this prized location; Troy’s momentous fall to the Greeks became enshrined in the memory of both Europe and Asia through Homer’s Iliad. The historian Luke, as a man of classical learning, was aware of that vast tradition and the many layers of memory that lay about in the ruins of Priam’s citadel.
Luke was well aware, for instance, that some 530 years or so earlier, another significant figure had arrived in that very place—Xerxes, along with the largest army ever assembled up to that time. The Church’s first historian, when he wrote of Paul’s coming to Troas, was surely familiar with the story of Xerxes in the Histories of Herodotus. The latter tells us that this Persian emperor, before crossing over to invade Europe, “climbed up to the citadel of Priam, having a longing to see it (himeron echon theasasthai). After he saw it and inquired about everything there, he sacrificed a thousand cattle to Athena of Ilium, and the Magi offered libations to the heroes” (7.43).
This sentence, anchored in fact and steeped in cultural memory, is full of poetic pathos. Having inspected the ruins of Priam’s palace, the Persian emperor offers a massive sacrifice to the goddess Athena, patroness of Troy, and then the Persian priests, called “Magi,” pour libations of wine over the tombs of Sarpedon, Hector, Patroclus, Priam, Achilles, and the other fallen warriors.
Among the motives for Xerxes’ invasion, Herodotus tells of a series of dreams (7.12–18) that prompted the emperor to believe he was being instructed by the Persian god, Ahura Mazda, to go and conquer the Greeks, who had defeated his father, Darius, ten years earlier, at the battle of Marathon.
Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor emeritus of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of numerous books, including, most recently, Out of Step with God: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Numbers (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019).
A Journal of Mere Christianity—Delivered to Your Door
- Essays on theology, culture, and the Church
- Contributors from across the Christian traditions
Six print issues (one year) of Touchstone, plus full online access and PDF downloads for only $39.95.
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95.
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more on history from the online archives
31.1—January/February 2018
on Ragnarök, an Extreme Weather Event & the Paths to Conversion by Timothy J. Burbery
15.6—July/August 2002
Things Hidden Since the Beginning of the World
The Shape of Divine Providence & Human History by James Hitchcock
14.6—July/August 2001
The Transformed Relics of the Fall
on the Fulfillment of History in Christ by Patrick Henry Reardon
more from the online archives
11.5—September/October 1998
Speaking the Truths Only the Imagination May Grasp
An Essay on Myth & 'Real Life' by Stratford Caldecott
8.4—Fall 1995
The Demise of Biblical Preaching
Distortions of the Gospel and its Recovery by Donald G. Bloesch
28.3—May/June 2015
Of Bicycles, Sex, & Natural Law
Describing Human Ends & Our Limitations Is Neither Futile Nor Unloving by R. V. Young
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
