Bithynia was an ancient region located in the northwestern part of Asia Minor, which is modern-day Turkey. It was bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) to the west, and the regions of Phrygia and Galatia to the south and east. Bithynia was known for its fertile lands and strategic location, which made it a significant area for trade and military movements.

Historical Context

Bithynia was originally inhabited by Thracian tribes and later became a kingdom in its own right. It was eventually absorbed into the Roman Empire in 74 BC when King Nicomedes IV bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. Under Roman rule, Bithynia was combined with the neighboring region of Pontus to form the province of Bithynia et Pontus. This province played a crucial role in the administration and military strategy of the Roman Empire due to its proximity to the eastern frontiers.

Biblical Significance

Bithynia is mentioned in the New Testament in the context of the Apostle Paul's missionary journeys. In Acts 16:7, it is recorded that Paul and his companions attempted to enter Bithynia, but "the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them" . This divine intervention redirected Paul and his team to Troas, where Paul received the vision of the man from Macedonia, leading to the spread of the Gospel into Europe.

The mention of Bithynia in this passage highlights the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the missionary efforts of the early Church. It underscores the belief that God directs the paths of His servants according to His divine plan and purpose.

Early Christianity

Bithynia was also significant in the early Christian period. The Apostle Peter addresses the believers in Bithynia in his first epistle, referring to them as part of the "elect exiles of the Dispersion" (1 Peter 1:1). This indicates that there was a Christian community in Bithynia, which was part of the broader network of early Christian churches spread throughout Asia Minor.

The region is further noted in early Christian history through the correspondence between Pliny the Younger, the Roman governor of Bithynia, and Emperor Trajan around AD 112. Pliny's letters provide valuable insights into the early Christian communities, their practices, and the challenges they faced, including persecution.

Cultural and Religious Influence

Bithynia, like much of Asia Minor, was a melting pot of cultures and religions. The region was home to various pagan cults and practices, which presented both challenges and opportunities for the spread of Christianity. The presence of a Christian community in Bithynia, as evidenced by Peter's epistle, suggests that the Gospel had taken root despite the prevailing cultural and religious milieu.

The strategic location of Bithynia, along with its urban centers such as Nicomedia and Nicaea, made it an important area for the dissemination of Christian teachings. The Council of Nicaea, held in AD 325, took place in the city of Nicaea (modern-day İznik), further cementing the region's significance in the history of Christianity.

In summary, Bithynia holds a notable place in biblical and early Christian history. Its mention in the New Testament and its role in the early Church highlight the region's importance in the spread of the Gospel and the establishment of Christian communities in the Roman Empire.Bithynia

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Bithynia

a Roman province of Asia Minor. Mentioned only in (Acts 16:7) and in 1Pet 1:1 The chief town of Bithynia was Nicaea, celebrated for the general Council of the Church held there in A.D. 325 against the Arian heresy.

Bithynia

1 Peter 1:1, a providence in the northern part of Asia Minor, on the shore of the Black sea, having Paphlagonia on the east, Phrygia and Galatia on the south, and Mysia on the southwest. It was directly opposite to Constantinople. It is famous as being one of the provinces to which the apostle Peter addressed his first epistle; also as having been under the government of Pliny, who, in a letter to the emperor Trajan, makes honorable mention of the number, character, and customs of the persecuted Christians there, about A. D. 106; also for the holding of the most celebrated council of the Christian church in the city of Nice, its metropolis, about A. D. 325. It may be, with some justice, considered as a province taught by Peter; and we read that when Paul attempted to go into Bithynia, the Spirit suffered him not, Acts 16:7.

A province in Asia Minor, to the south of the Euxine and Propontis. Christian congregations were here formed at an early time (1 Peter 1:1). Paul was prevented by the Spirit from entering this province (Acts 16:7). It is noted in church history as the province ruled over by Pliny as Roman proconsul, who was perplexed as to the course he should take with the numerous Christians brought before his tribunal on account of their profession of Christianity and their conduct, and wrote to Trajan, the emperor, for instructions (A.D. 107). BITHYNIA

bi-thin'-i-a (Bithunia): A coast province in northwestern Asia Minor on the Propontis and the Euxine. Its narrowest compass included the districts on both sides of the Sangarius, its one large river, but in prosperous times its boundaries reached from the Rhyndacus on the west to and beyond the Parthenius on the east. The Mysian Olympus rose in grandeur to a height of 6,400 ft. in the southwest, and in general the face of Nature was wrinkled with rugged mountains and seamed with fertile valleys sloping toward the Black Sea.

Hittites may have occupied Bithynia in the remote past, for Priam of Troy found some of his stoutest enemies among the Amazons on the upper Sangarius in Phrygia, and these may have been Hittite, and may easily have settled along the river to its mouth. The earliest discernible Bithynians, however, were Thracian immigrants from the European side of the Reliespont. The country was overcome by Croesus, and passed with Lydia under Persian control, 546 B.C. After Alexander the Great, Bithynia became independent, and Nicomedes I, Prusias I and II, and Nicomedes II and III, ruled from 278 to 74 B.C. The last king, weary of the incessant strife among the peoples of Asia Minor, especially as provoked by the aggressive Mithridates, bequeathed his country to Rome. Nicomedia and Prusa, or Brousa, were founded by kings whose names they bear; the other chief cities, Nicea and Chalcedon, had been built by Greek enterprise earlier. There were highways leading from Nicomedia and Nicea to Dorylaeum and to Angora (see Ramsay, Historical Geography of Asia Minor, and The Church in the Roman Empire before A.D. 170). Under Rome the Black Sea littoral as far as Amisus was more or less closely joined with Bithynia in administration.

Paul and Silas essayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not (Acts 16:7). Other evangelists, however, must have labored there early and with marked success. Bithynia is one of the provinces addressed in 1 Peter 1:1.

Internal difficulties and disorders led to the sending of Pliny, the lawyer and literary man, as governor, 111 to 113 A.D. He found Christians under his jurisdiction in such numbers that the heathen temples were almost deserted, and the trade in sacrificial animals languished. A memorable correspondence followed between the Roman governor and the emperor Trajan, in which the moral character of the Christians was completely vindicated, and the repressive measures required of officials were interpreted with leniency (see E. G. Hardy, Pliny's Correspondence with Trajan, and Christianity and the Roman Government). Under this Roman policy Christianity was confirmed in strength and in public position. Subsequently the first Ecumenical Council of the church was held in Nicea, and two later councils convened in Chalcedon, a suburb of what is now Constantinople. The emperor Diocletian had fixed his residence and the seat of government for the eastern Roman Empire in Nicomedia.

Bithynia was for a thousand years part of the Byzantine Empire, and shared the fortunes and misfortunes of that state. On the advent of the Turks its territory was quickly overrun, and Orchan, sultan in 1326, selected Brousa as his capital, since which time this has been one.of the chief Ottoman cities.

G. E. White

978. Bithunia -- Bithynia, a province in Asia Minor
... Bithynia, a province in Asia Minor. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration:
Bithunia Phonetic Spelling: (bee-thoo-nee'-ah) Short Definition: Bithynia ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/978.htm - 6k

4195. Pontos -- "a sea," Pontus, a region of Asia Minor
... pon'-tos) Short Definition: Pontus Definition: Pontus, a Roman province in the north
of Asia Minor, bordering on the Black Sea, governed along with Bithynia. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4195.htm - 6k

4899. suneklektos -- chosen together with
... 1 Pet 1:1,2: " 1 To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia,
Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, , by the sanctifying work of the Spirit ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4899.htm - 7k

Of the Synod which was Held at Nic??a in Bithynia, and the Creed ...
... The ECCLESIASTICAL HistorY, BY SOCRATES SCHOLASTICUS. Book I. Chapter VIII."Of the
Synod which was held at Nic??a in Bithynia, and the Creed there put forth. ...
/.../the ecclesiastical history of scholasticus/chapter viii of the synod which.htm

Ep. xx. In AD 368 the City of Nic??a in Bithynia was Almost ...
... Division III. Miscellaneous Letters. Ep. XX. In ad 368 the City of Nic??a
in Bithynia was almost entirely destroyed by? (In ad ...
/.../cyril/select letters of saint gregory nazianzen/ep xx in a d.htm

Ep. xiv. And xxiii. Under the Emperor Valens C??sarius Returned to ...
... Division III. Miscellaneous Letters. Ep. XIV. and XXIII. Under the Emperor Valens
C??sarius returned to public life and was made Qu??stor of Bithynia.? ...
/.../cyril/select letters of saint gregory nazianzen/ep xiv and xxiii under.htm

Hail of Extraordinary Size; and Earthquakes in Bithynia and the ...
... Book IV. Chapter XI."Hail of Extraordinary Size; and Earthquakes in Bithynia
and the Hellespont. On the 2d of June of the following ...
/.../chapter xi hail of extraordinary size.htm

The Faith of the Three Hundred and Eighteen Fathers Assembled at ...
... Canon I. The Faith of the Three Hundred and Eighteen Fathers assembled
at Nice in Bithynia shall? The Faith of the Three Hundred ...
/.../schaff/the seven ecumenical councils/canon i the faith of.htm

The Canons of the 318 Holy Fathers Assembled in the City of Nice ...
... The Canons of the 318 Holy Fathers Assembled in the City of Nice, in Bithynia.
Canon I. If any one in sickness has been subjected ...
/.../schaff/the seven ecumenical councils/the canons of the 318.htm

The Cry of the Heathen
... And "after they had come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit
suffered them not." The apostle was like Abraham of old; he went forth, not ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 4 1858/the cry of the heathen.htm

V. ...
... V.1, 2. Peter an Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered abroad in Pontus,
Galatia, Capadocia, Asia and Bithynia, elect according to the ...
/.../the epistles of st peter and st jude preached and explained/chapter i v .htm

Here Begin the Rescripts to the African Council from Cyril Bishop ...
... express the hope that we will send you most accurate copies of the decrees of the
holy Fathers at the Synod held at Nice the metropolis of Bithynia from the ...
/.../schaff/the seven ecumenical councils/canon cxxxv not numbered in.htm

The Mission of Paul and Silas to Macedonia.
... region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
after they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture xvii the mission of.htm

Bithynia (2 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. BITHYNIA. ... Under Rome the Black Sea littoral as
far as Amisus was more or less closely joined with Bithynia in administration. ...
/b/bithynia.htm - 11k

Bithyn'ia (2 Occurrences)
... Bithynia, Bithyn'ia. Biting . ... Acts 16:7 having gone toward Mysia, they were
trying to go on toward Bithynia, and the Spirit did not suffer them, (See RSV). ...
/b/bithyn'ia.htm - 6k

Pontus (3 Occurrences)
... Most of Pontus was for administrative purposes united by the Romans with the province
of Bithynia, though the eastern part subsisted as a separate kingdom ...
/p/pontus.htm - 16k

Galatia (6 Occurrences)
... They were invited by the king of Bithynia to cross over into Asia Minor
to assist him in his wars. There they ultimately settled ...
/g/galatia.htm - 23k

Mysia (2 Occurrences)
... Though its boundaries were always vague, it may be said to have extended on the
North to the Sea of Marmora on the East to Bithynia and Phrygia, on the South ...
/m/mysia.htm - 8k

Opposite (137 Occurrences)
... (See NIV). Acts 16:7 When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go
into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn't allow them. (WEB RSV). ...
/o/opposite.htm - 37k

Foreigners (76 Occurrences)
... an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the
Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, (WEB WEY). ...
/f/foreigners.htm - 29k

Frontier (6 Occurrences)
... Frontier (6 Occurrences). Acts 16:7 When they reached the frontier of Mysia, they
were about to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit this. ...
/f/frontier.htm - 9k

Reside (17 Occurrences)
... an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the
Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, (See NAS). ...
/r/reside.htm - 12k

Exiles (46 Occurrences)
... an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the
Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, (See RSV). ...
/e/exiles.htm - 20k

Who was Pliny the Younger? | GotQuestions.org

What is the Macedonian Call? | GotQuestions.org

What is conditional election? | GotQuestions.org

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