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Paul's missionary journeys
c. AD 46–57· Event· Bible story & events
Mostly agreed by scholarsMost historians agree; some details uncertain.
Between about AD 46 and 57 Paul made three long missionary journeys, planting churches in cities across Cyprus, Asia Minor and Greece.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
Acts 13–20 tells the story. With Barnabas he sails to Cyprus and inland Turkey. On the second journey, with Silas, a vision calls him to Macedonia: he founds churches at Philippi and Thessalonica, then stays 18 months in Corinth. On the third he spends two to three years at Ephesus. He usually began in the synagogue, then turned to Gentiles, supporting himself as a tentmaker. A last voyage, as a prisoner to Rome, ends in shipwreck on Malta (Acts 27).
Why it matters
In about a decade he planted Christianity in major cities along the empire's trade routes, building the network that carried it to Rome and beyond.
Think of it like
Like opening branch offices in key cities along a highway, appointing local managers, then running them by letter.
Sources and history
Acts and Paul's own letters, written to the very churches he founded, largely agree on the route. Inscriptions confirm officials Acts names, such as Gallio at Corinth and the 'politarchs' of Thessalonica.
Questions and debates
Acts' neat 'three journeys' may be Luke's arrangement; Paul's letters mention trips and hardships, including three shipwrecks (2 Corinthians 11:25), that Acts never describes.
Connections (2)
▸Paul the Apostle set out, after his conversion, on Paul's missionary journeysMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
After his conversion near Damascus about AD 34, Paul spent years in Arabia, Damascus and his home region around Tarsus. Barnabas brought him to the church at Antioch, which sent the two out about AD 46. Paul believed Christ had called him to be apostle to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:15–16).
When and where
Antioch in Syria was his base; the journeys, about AD 46–57, covered Cyprus, Galatia, Macedonia, Greece and Asia, by one estimate some 10,000 miles.
How do we know?
Paul's own letters (Galatians 1–2) give his years after conversion; Acts 13–20 gives the journeys. The two overlap strongly though details differ.
Questions and debates
Acts and Galatians differ on how soon he met the Jerusalem apostles (Galatians says after three years), and his 'hidden years' in Arabia and Tarsus are almost unknown.
▸Paul's missionary journeys are told in Acts of the ApostlesMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Acts 13–28 is the main record of Paul's travels: Cyprus and central Turkey (chapters 13–14), then Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens and Corinth, then Ephesus, then arrest in Jerusalem and shipwreck on Malta before Rome. From Acts 16:10 the story switches to 'we', suggesting the author traveled with Paul for parts.
When and where
Written about AD 80–90, describing events of about 46–60 across Roman Asia Minor, Macedonia and Greece.
How do we know?
Paul's own letters (Galatians, Corinthians, Romans) confirm many places and names; the Gallio inscription at Delphi dates his Corinth stay to about 51.
Questions and debates
Acts and the letters sometimes disagree, for example on Paul's visits to Jerusalem (Galatians 1–2 versus Acts 9, 11, 15); whether 'we' signals an eyewitness is debated.