I have always wondered what happened to the early Christians after the death of Jesus Christ. The Bible paints such a positive picture of these survivors, and how they managed to overcome persecution, torture and even their doubts to spread the Good News around the world (or at least the Middle East.) But this portion of the Bible was written around 150 CE, that is more than 100 years after the death of Jesus Christ in 33 CE. So what really happened?
When I was in Turkiye recently, I discovered the answer to my question in the unlikeliest of places. For evidence of what happened to those early followers can be found in the remarkable rock churches of Cappadocia, one of the places where the early Christians fled (the other place being Egypt.) The region is known for its soft rock called tuff, which is easy to carve. Accordingly, the persecuted Christians found the perfect hiding place for their nascent religion. For the Roman Army, marching through this dusty wilderness with its exotic rock formations would be blissfully unaware that beneath their feet were subversive followers worshipping Christianity.
Cappadocia is first mentioned in the Bible by Luke in Acts Two, verses 1-4, where he describes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that occurred on the Day of Pentecost, when Jesus ascended into Heaven. This suggests that indeed, these followers had fled soon after the death of Jesus, presumably because they thought the authorities were going to massacre all Christians.
The best way to travel through this rather hostile countryside in the middle of Turkiye is by car or bus, during those times of the year when it is not too hot.
