Christianity in Anatolia

The history of Christianity in Anatolia dates back to the first years of Christianity. the church founded by St. Peter, one of the 12 apostles, in Antioch is the first church in the history of Christianity.

Saint Pierre

Saint Pierre

 

Over time, Christianity began to spread to Anatolia and reached more and more masses. however, the Romans were establishing harsh repressions and most of the people who believed in paganism were opposed to this religion. The hirstian community was forced to hide and saw atrocities. Some hid in underground caves, some hid their identity.

Saint Peter traveled in these lands and the foundations of the gospels were laid in Anatolia.

Saint Peter

Saint Peter

İn addition, another name that is very important for the history of Christianity is Paulus of Tarsus.

Paulus

Paulus

However, the place where the Christian religion spread to the world is definitely Cappadocia.

The first frescoes were painted here.christianity matured here and spread around the world

Christianity in Cappadocia:

Christianity in Cappadocia:

Cappadocia Churches:

Cappadocia Churches:

When Christians came to this region, pagans lived in Cappadocia.They were painting pictures on the walls, engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. They understood that it would be difficult to explain Christianity through speaking and writing. That’s why they started to tell by drawing pictures in them. When they saw that the frescoes made at first were deforming rapidly,they discovered the plaster that we call the Cappadocian plaster. For this purpose; they used white mud, pigeon eggs and straw. Thus, the magnificent frescoes have survived to this day.

 

Christianity was finally liberated by the edict of Milan in 313. in 325, the first consul convened, and in 380 Christianity was accepted as the official religion in the Roman Empire. after this date, Christianity spread more and more, but then it was divided into two.

Roman Empire:

Roman Empire

Although the Byzantine empire, which continued to exist on the Anatolian territory, accepted orthodox Christianity as the official religion, many denominations continued to exist in Anatolia.

Byzantine Empire

 

Certainly the most important of these communities are the Syriac Christians

Syriac Christians:

Syriac Christians:

Later, when Islam began to spread to the region, the number of Christians began to decrease, but the main decrease was experienced during the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. As a result of the migrations that started with the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, they have decreased significantly.

However, there are still a significant number of Christians living in Anatolia today.