Re: The Early Christians: In Their Own Words

Friends of Stephen, the first martyr, took this message from Jerusalem to 
Antioch. As a consequence, this nearby metropolis of Greek culture led the

way in the work of the apostles, even before Ephesus in Asia Minor, or 
Corinth, or Rome. It was in Antioch that their enemies coined the name 
“Christians” for the “people of the Christ.” The striking aptness of this 
name, used to distinguish those who belonged to Christ’s Messianic future,

surely did not remain unnoticed. As apostles of the Spirit, Paul and 
Barnabas were sent from Antioch to the Gentiles. Were they the first new 
apostles after the original circle of twelve?