Thessaloni'ca. The original name of this city was Therma; and that part of the
Macedonian shore, on which it was situated, retained through the Roman period,
the designation of the Thermaic Gulf. Cassander, the son of Antipater, rebuilt
and enlarged Therma, and named it after his wife, Thessalonica, the sister of
Alexander the Great. The name ever since, under various slight modifications,
has been continuous, and the city itself has never ceased to be eminent. Saloniki
is still the most important town of European Turkey, next after Constantinople.
Strabo, in the first century, speaks of Thessalonica as the most populous city
in Macedonia.
Visit of Paul. -- St. Paul visited Thessalonica, (with Silas and Timothy), during his
second missionary journey, and introduced Christianity there. The first scene
of the apostle's work at Thessalonica was the synagogue. Act_17:2-3. It is stated that the ministrations
among the Jews, continued for three weeks. Act_17:2.
Not that we are obliged to limit to this time, the whole stay of the apostle at
Thessalonica. A flourishing church was certainly formed there; and the Epistles
show that its elements were more Gentile than Jewish. [For persecution and
further history, See Paul.]
Circumstances which led Paul to Thessalonica. -- Three circumstances
must here be mentioned, which illustrate, in an important manner, this visit,
and this journey, as well as the two Epistles to the Thessalonians.
This was the chief station on the great Roman road called the Via
Egnatia, which connected Rome with the whole region to the north of the
Aegean Sea.
Placed as if was on this great road, and in connection with other
important Roman ways, Thessalonica was an invaluable centre, for the spread of
the gospel. In fact, it was nearly, if not quite, on a level with Corinth and
Ephesus, in its share of the commerce of the Levant.
The circumstance noted in Act_17:1,
that here was the synagogue of the Jews in this part of Macedonia, had
evidently much to do with the apostle's plans, and also, doubtless, with his
success. Trade would inevitably bring Jews to Thessalonica; and it is
remarkable that they have, ever since, had a prominent place in the annals of
the city.
Later ecclesiastical history. -- During several centuries, this city was the
bulwark, not simply of the later Greek empire, but of Oriental Christendom, and
was largely instrumental, in the conversion of the Slavonians and Bulgarians.
Thus, it received the designation of "the orthodox city;" and its
struggles are very prominent, in the writings of the Byzantine historians.
Source:
Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Thessalonica
thes-a-lṓ-nī´ka (Θεσσαλονίκη,
Thessaloníkē, ethnic Θεσσαλονικεύς,
Thessalonikeús):
Source:
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Thessalonica
A large and populous city on the Thermaic bay. It was the capital of one
of the four Roman districts of Macedonia, and was ruled by a praetor. It was
named after Thessalonica, the wife of Cassander, who built the city. She was so
called by her father, Philip, because he first heard of her birth on the day of
his gaining a victory over the Thessalians. On his second missionary journey,
Paul preached in the synagogue here, the chief synagogue of the Jews in that
part of Macedonia, and laid the foundations of a church (Act_17:1-4; 1Th_1:9).
The violence of the Jews drove him from the city, when he fled to Berea (Act_17:5-10). The “rulers of the city” before
whom the Jews “drew Jason,” with whom Paul and Silas lodged, are in the
original called politarchai, an unusual word, which was found, however,
inscribed on an arch in Thessalonica. This discovery confirms the accuracy of
the historian. Paul visited the church here on a subsequent occasion (Act_20:1-3). This city long retained its
importance. It is the most important town of European Turkey, under the name of
Saloniki, with a mixed population of about 85,000.
Source:
Easton’s Bible Dictionary