Iconium and Lystra
We were up and off early because we had a long, three and half hour drive to Iconium in Pisidia. Paul and Barnabas visited Iconium on their first missionary journey, staying for what Acts 14:3 describes as "a long time". They preached boldly and won many to faith in Jesus, both Jew and Greek. But they also aroused deep hostility, and when they learned of a plot by leaders in the city to stone them, they fled the city. There are no visible remains of Paul's 1st century Iconium. It lies beneath the modern Turkish city Konya, which is built on top of the site. In addition to its Christian history, Konya (Iconium) is also famous as the home of the 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic Rumi. Rumi's mosque and tomb are a major pilgrimage site for Muslims. We visited the mosque and museum.
Rumi's mosque.
Rumi's tomb.
As it says in Acts 14:6-7, Paul and Barnabas fled from Iconium "to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel." In Lystra, Paul miraculously healed a crippled man, and it led the people there to declare the gods Zeus and Hermes had come to earth. They wanted to offer sacrifices to honor them. Aghast, Paul and Barnabas tore their clothing and rushed into the crowd declaring they were just men, who proclaimed the salvation offered in Jesus Christ. Paul and Barnabas stayed in Lystra long enough to win many people to faith, but Jews came down from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the crowd to stone Paul, drag him out of the city and leave him as dead. As it says in Acts 14:20, "But when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and entered the city, and the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe." They later returned to Lystra, where they appointed elders to oversee the churches in the area, "and entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they believed." (Acts 14:23).
We left Konya in search of Lystra. It was no easy task, as the city of Lystra itself disappeared centuries ago and is buried under a huge tel (or hill). After driving through the beautiful rural landscape of Lycaonia with the snow covered Taurus Mountains looming ahead, we found the tel.
The tel of Lystra.
We then continued a few more miles along a country lane to the village of Kilistra, one of those places in "the surrounding country" where Paul most certainly had appointed "elders". Much to our surprise and delight, we discovered the ancient stone church of Kilistra, carved out of rock cliffs, just like those in Cappadocia.
The Pilgrims at Kilistra.
Several of us, scrambled up a steep snow covered path to discover a second church, carved into a perfect miniature basilica, with a crossing and three apses. We rejoiced in being in a place where St. Paul had brought the first Christians to faith.
The view of Kilistra from the top of the ridge.
Pilgrims in the second church at Kilistra.
Stunning!
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