Robert L. Mowery, «Paul and Caristanius at Pisidian Antioch», Vol. 87 (2006) 223-242
A recently-published Latin inscription from Pisidian Antioch refers to four
benefactions that a prominent citizen named Caristanius had provided to fulfill a
vow on behalf of the emperor Claudius. Since this inscription refers to the year
45/46 CE, it refers to benefactions that may have been provided near the time
when Paul arrived in the city. After surveying the contents of this inscription and
reviewing scholarly opinion concerning the date when Paul arrived, this paper
reflects on the ethnic diversity of first century Pisidian Antioch, the religious
beliefs reflected in Caristanius’ vow, the likely impact of his benefactions on the
residents of the city, and the possibility that he may have been one of “the leading
men of the city” mentioned in Acts 13,50.
Paul and Caristanius at Pisidian Antioch 227
as Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13,43.46.50), Paul and Silas (Acts 15,40),
or only Paul (Acts 18,23; 2 Tim 3,11), all of them refer to Paul. To
simplify the language of this paper, we will henceforth simply speak of
“Paul†when referring to the missionary/ies who evangelized Pisidian
Antioch.
The story of the first mission in Pisidian Antioch is part of the so-
called “first missionary journey†narrated in Acts 13–14. Scholars
have expressed very different conclusions about the historicity of this
journey. While Conzelmann, for example, viewed this journey as a
“model journey†created by the author (21), others have expressed more
positive evaluations of its historicity (22). These differing opinions
reflect, among other things, the comparative lack of “hard evidence†in
Acts 13–14. Bechard, for example, has noted the “striking paucity†of
exact information concerning dates, the length of time spent in various
cities, and the identity of the individuals encountered during the events
narrated in these chapters (23). The Pauline letters fail to provide the
missing data, for none of the homologoumena even explicitly
mentions this journey. Lacking hard evidence regarding the year when
Paul arrived in Pisidian Antioch, we must turn to the dates proposed
by various scholars.
When did Paul arrive in this city? Most scholars have given one of
three answers: 1) he arrived during the years 34-40, 2) he arrived
during the years 43-49, or 3) his arrival, if historical, cannot be dated.
We will review these answers in order.
1. Several scholars date the Pauline mission to south Galatia
during the years 34-40. Lüdemann, for example, claims that Paul
evangelized this region during 34 or 37 CE (24), while Witulski has
dated this mission sometime during 35-40 CE (25). Other scholars have
voiced similar conclusions (26).
(21) H. CONZELMANN, Acts of the Apostles (Hermeneia; Philadelphia 1987) 98.
(22) Cf., e.g., R. PESCH, Die Apostelgeschichte (EKK 5; Zürich – Neukirchen-
Vluyn 1986) I, 49-50; II, 20-21; RIESNER, Paul’s Early Period, 271-279, 290-291,
322.
(23) See D.P. BECHARD, Paul Outside the Walls. A Study of Luke’s Socio-
Geographical Universalism in Acts 14,8-20 (AnBib 143; Roma 2000) 18, 37-45.
(24) G. LÃœDEMANN, Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles. Studies in Chronology
(Philadelphia 1984) 262.
(25) T. WITULSKI, Die Adressaten des Galaterbriefes. Untersuchungen zur
Gemeinde von Antiochia ad Pisidiam (FRLANT 193; Göttingen 2000) 215.
(26) While BREYTENBACH, Paulus, 96, mulls over the possibility that the
mission on Cyprus (Acts 13,4-12), which is presented as the first phrase of the
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