ABSTRACT
The book of Acts tells of the foundation of the church at Antioch in remarkably sober terms. The position of the story can only be exlplained as due to a transposition made of set purpose, expressly intended to convey the impression that the church at Antioch was founded after the centurion Cornelius had been converted. After the church at Jerusalem had learnt of the foundation of the church at Antioch it sent Barnabas there. The fact that the term Christian was at first only used of Gentile Christians supports the hypothesis that the church at Antioch was Hellenic in character. In short, while Paul was kept far away by his missionary activity, Peter was turned out of Jerusalem, came and settled in Antioch. As the church at Jerusalem showed a marked decline after 70 the influence of the church at Antioch must have considerably increased.
