And it came to pass in Iconium,.... When the apostles were got thither, and as soon as they were there; at least the first opportunity they had:that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews; which was in Iconium; hither Paul and Barnabas went together, in like manner as they had done at Antioch:and so spoke; such words, and doctrines of grace, with so much power, authority, and demonstration of the Spirit, with so much plainness, clearness, and evidence, as well as with so much boldness and courage:that a great multitude, both of the Jews, and also of the Greeks, believed: the doctrines they preached, and in Christ the sum and substance of them; and these were not a few, but a great multitude; and not of one sort, of the Jews only, who expected the Messiah, but of the Greeks, or Gentiles also, who never heard of any; for by Greeks here are meant, not Jews born in Greece, speaking the Greek tongue, and using the Greek Bible, for these were called Hellenists, and not Greeks, but Heathens.
These converts laid the foundation of a Gospel church state in this place; for that there was a church here, is certain from Ac 14:21 In the "first" century, Sosipater is said to be bishop, or pastor of this church, and also Tertius, who are both reckoned among the "seventy" disciples of Christ;See Gill on "Lu 10:1".
In the "third" century, Celsus was bishop of this church; and in the same century, several synods were held here, about the error of Novatus; and in the same century, Nicomes bishop of this place, assisted at the council at Antioch, which condemned the heresy of Samosatenus : in the "fourth" century there was a church in this place, and Amphilochius was bishop of it, of whom Jerom makes mention; and who read to him a book, concerning the deity and worship of the holy Spirit: in the "fifth" century, it was the metropolitan church of Lycaonia, and Valerianus and Onesiphorus presided over it: in the "sixth" century, a bishop of this church was present at the fifth Roman council under Symmachus: in the "seventh" century, it bore the character of metropolitan, and a bishop of it assisted at the sixth council at Constantinople, whose name was Paul: in the "eighth" century, Leo was bishop of it, who was present at the synod of Nice ; and after this we hear no more of it, the place falling into the hands of the Turks, who are now possessed of it: here, according to the Roman martyrology, Tryphena and Tryphosa, mentioned in Ro 16:12 heard the Apostle Paul preach; and here the famous virgin and martyr, Thecla, was converted.
Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 6. c. 19. & l. 7. c. 28, 30. Catalog. Script. Eccles. fol. 102. H. Magdeburg. Hist. Eccles. cent. 5. c. 7. p. 418. c. 10. p. 596. cent. 6. c. 2. p. 4. cent. 7. c. 2. p. 3. c. 7.
p. 112. c. 10. p. 254. cent. 8. c. 2. p.