If Acts 14:21–23 truly records church appointments in multiple cities, why is there no archaeological evidence of these early churches?

Historical Context of Acts 14:21–23

Acts 14:21–23 states, “They preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. They said, ‘We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.’ Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” This passage recounts Paul and Barnabas traveling through multiple cities in the region of Galatia (present-day Turkey), where they preached, established congregations, and appointed local leadership.

These events took place during the Roman Empire’s dominance in the Near East, a society whose infrastructure, culture, and political structures heavily influenced early Christian meeting habits. Although Christians were in some locales tolerated, many times they encountered suspicion or persecution. Consequently, believers often gathered in private homes or secluded spaces and did not typically erect large or distinct religious buildings. The broader context helps explain why, even though churches were indeed being formed, extensive archaeological traces can remain sparse.

Nature of Early Christian Meeting Places

Early congregations did not normally construct dedicated church buildings as we might imagine today. Rather, they met where they could gather safely and practically. These meeting places included:

• Private homes (e.g., “house churches”) that were adapted for worship.

• Existing Jewish synagogues where possible, especially early on, before tensions arose (Acts 9:20).

• Open air gatherings in regions more receptive to the Christian movement.

• In some instances, catacombs or more discreet locations were used in later centuries during times of heightened persecution in various parts of the Roman world.

This pattern of informal, multi-purpose meeting sites means that durable architectural markers—like large stone church buildings, altars, or extensive church cemeteries—often did not exist in the earliest decades. Consequently, one should not expect abundant material evidence from the initial period of Christian expansion.

Archaeological Evidence and the Challenges

1. Fragility of Early Structures: Many first-century dwellings were built with simple materials such as wood, clay bricks, or mortar-binding stone. Over centuries, such structures frequently decomposed or were repurposed, making remains difficult to identify as specifically “Christian.”

2. Lack of Distinctive Christian Artifacts: In the earliest churches, distinctive Christian symbols were not always publicly displayed or widely produced, partly to avoid social antagonism. Newly formed congregations often kept a low profile, limiting the amount of recognizable “Christian” artwork or objects that would confirm a congregation’s presence.

3. Layered Sites and Excavation Limitations: Cities like Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch have been continuously inhabited or rebuilt over millennia. Site layers stack upon each other, complicating deeper excavations and sometimes rendering the earliest levels inaccessible without extensive, specialized digs.

4. Frequency of Repurposing: Over centuries, many early buildings changed hands. One generation’s rudimentary gathering space became the next generation’s home or was absorbed into new construction, further obscuring traces of an original Christian community.

Reliability of Luke’s Account and the New Testament Manuscripts

Luke, the author of Acts, is historically noted for his attention to detail regarding people, places, and events. Numerous incidents recorded in Acts align with known historical and geographical details—such as naming local officials accurately and identifying culturally specific customs—consistently supported by archaeological findings (e.g., the titles of officials like the proconsul in Cyprus in Acts 13:7).

Surviving New Testament manuscripts, transcending centuries of transmission, are robustly attested in both Greek and translations into Latin, Syriac, and other early languages. The sheer volume of manuscript copies—thousands in Greek alone—allows textual critics to confirm the core reliability of Luke’s record in Acts. Thus, even when physical archaeological evidence of early assemblies is minimal, the textual evidence strongly affirms that these communities were genuinely established, just as Luke describes.

Geographical and Cultural Confirmations

• Iconium (Konya, Turkey): Statues, inscriptions, and coins from the broader Roman period have been unearthed in this area, showing an active Greco-Roman civic structure that aligns with the environment described in Acts 14. Early Christian remains are harder to isolate from this period, but later centuries have yielded church ruins confirming a Christian presence in subsequent generations.

• Lystra (Near Hatunsaray, Turkey): Lystra was a small city with significant agricultural surroundings. Excavations reveal evidence of Roman occupation, but any modest Christian gatherings would not always leave monumental artifacts.

• Antioch of Pisidia (Yalvaç, Turkey): A major site with known Roman structures. Archaeologists have discovered inscriptions attesting to local populations, though direct first-century Christian building evidence from Paul’s earliest visits remains elusive. Still, later Byzantine ruins confirm a well-rooted Christian presence.

Ongoing Excavations and Discoveries

Archaeological work in these regions is ongoing, and new discoveries often revise previous assumptions. For instance, artifacts such as ancient Christian symbols, inscriptions referencing bishops or elders, or communal worship items can be gleaned in future investigations. In some known biblical locations—like Corinth or Philippi—later archaeological finds confirmed the presence of well-established Christian communities over time. Similarly, unforeseen breakthroughs remain possible at places like Lystra and Iconium.

Moreover, local conditions, funding, and political situations significantly influence excavation activities. Some areas remain under-studied or carry only partial digs, leaving room for the possibility that first-century Christian sites, or clues of them, may lie undisturbed beneath current habitation or farmland.

Textual and Historical Witnesses

Literary evidence from Acts, Paul’s epistles (e.g., Galatians addressing believers in that region), and references from early church fathers such as Polycarp and Irenaeus point to the rapid spread of Christianity in Asia Minor. These authors clearly mention the existence of local churches but do not describe large structures or publicly recognized complexes—an indication of the humble conditions in which Christianity first took root.

In addition, the first few centuries of Christian history recorded in patristic writings show a church growing against cultural resistance. Many of these sources testify that gatherings flourished in people’s homes until it was safer or more financially feasible to raise officially recognized places of worship, often not until the latter part of the third and fourth centuries.

Conclusion

Archaeological evidence for earliest Christian communities in places like Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch can be challenging to uncover. The modest, often hidden nature of first-century Christian gathering sites, combined with the passage of time and continuous reuse of land, makes explicit remains rare. Yet the literary and manuscript evidence from Acts, supported by ongoing finds and the historical reliability demonstrated in Luke’s writings, underscores that these churches indeed existed.

The absence of imposing church ruins does not invalidate the biblical account. Rather, it reflects the conditions under which these congregations came together, meeting in tight-knit communities without large or distinctive buildings. Textual witness from Acts, corroborated by other manuscripts and the broader historical context, continues to serve as a substantial testimony that these early fellowships, formed by Paul and Barnabas, were authentically grounded in the cities of first-century Galatia.