Editing Ephesus (section)

==Ephesus and Christianity==
{{Main|Metropolis of Ephesus}}
{{see also|Early centers of Christianity#Anatolia|l1=Early centers of Christianity in Anatolia}}
[[File:Eustache Le Sueur - The Preaching of St Paul at Ephesus - WGA12613.jpg|thumb|''The Preaching of [[Paul the Apostle|Saint Paul]] at Ephesus'', [[Eustache Le Sueur]], 1649]]
Ephesus was an important centre for [[Early Christianity]] from the AD 50s. From AD 52–54, the apostle [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] lived for three years in Ephesus,<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|20:31}}</ref> working with the congregation and organizing missionary activity into the hinterlands.<ref>"Paul, St." Cross, F. L., ed. ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005</ref> Initially, according to the [[Acts of the Apostles]], Paul attended the [[Jewish synagogue]] in Ephesus, but after three months he became frustrated with the stubbornness of some of the Jews, and moved his base to the school of [[Tyrannus (biblical figure)|Tyrannus]].<ref>{{Bibleverse|Acts|19:9}}</ref> The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary reminds readers that the unbelief of "some" ({{langx|el|τινες}}) implies that "others, probably a large number, believed"<ref>[[Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary]] on [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/jfb/acts/19.htm Acts 19] accessed 5 October 2015</ref> and therefore there must have been a community of [[Jewish Christian]]s in Ephesus. Paul introduced about twelve men to the '[[baptism with the Holy Spirit]]' who had previously only experienced the [[baptism]] of [[John the Baptist]].<ref>{{Bibleverse|Acts|19:1–7}}</ref> Later a silversmith named Demetrios stirred up a mob against Paul, saying that he was endangering the livelihood of those making silver Artemis shrines.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Acts|19:23–41|9|Acts 19:23–41}}</ref> Demetrios in connection with the temple of Artemis mentions some object (perhaps an image or a stone) "fallen from Zeus". Between 53 and 57&nbsp;AD Paul wrote the letter [[First Epistle to the Corinthians|1 Corinthians]] from Ephesus (possibly from the 'Paul tower' near the harbour, where he was imprisoned for a short time). Later, Paul wrote the [[Epistle to the Ephesians]] while he was in prison in Rome (around 62&nbsp;AD).

Roman Asia was also associated with [[John the Apostle|John]],<ref name="CC">[[Will Durant|Durant, Will]]. Caesar and Christ. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1972</ref> one of the chief apostles, and the [[Gospel of John]] might have been written in Ephesus, ''c'' 90–100.<ref name="Harris Gospels">[[Stephen L. Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "The Gospels" p. 266-268.</ref> John is said to have died of natural causes at Ephesus sometime after AD 98, during the reign of [[Trajan]], thus becoming the only apostle who did not die as a [[Christian martyr|martyr]].<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc06/htm/iii.lvii.lviii.htm |title=John the Apostle|website= CCEL}}</ref> His tomb is thought to be located in the former [[Basilica of St. John]] at [[Selçuk]], a small town in the vicinity of Ephesus.<ref>[[Procopius of Caesarea]], ''On Buildings'' General Index, trans. H. B. Dewing and Glanville Downey, vol. 7, [[Loeb Classical Library]] 343 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1940), 319</ref> Ephesus was one of the [[Seven churches of the Book of Revelation|seven cities]] addressed in the [[Book of Revelation]], indicating that the church at Ephesus was strong.

According to [[Eusebius of Caesarea]], [[Saint Timothy]], the companion of Saint Paul, was the first [[bishop]] of Ephesus.<ref>{{Citation | last = Eusebius | title = Historia Ecclesiastica | chapter = 3.4 | others = Williamson, G.A. transl. | trans-title = The History of the Church | place = Harmonsworth | publisher = Penguin | year = 1965 | page = 109}}.</ref>

In the early 2nd century, the church at Ephesus was still important enough to be addressed by a letter written by Bishop [[Ignatius of Antioch]] to the Ephesians which begins with "Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church which is at Ephesus, in Asia, deservedly most happy, being blessed in the greatness and fullness of God the Father, and predestinated before the beginning of time, that it should be always for an enduring and unchangeable glory" (''Letter to the Ephesians''). The church at Ephesus had given their support for Ignatius, who was taken to Rome for execution.

[[Polycrates of Ephesus]] ({{langx|el|Πολυκράτης}}) was a bishop at the [[Church of Ephesus]] in the 2nd century. He is best known for his letter addressed to the  [[Pope Victor I]], Bishop of Rome, defending the [[Quartodeciman]] position in the [[Easter controversy]].

[[File:House of the Virgin Mary.jpg|left|thumb|[[House of the Virgin Mary]]]]
A legend, which was first mentioned by [[Epiphanius of Salamis]] in the 4th century, purported that 
[[Mary, the mother of Jesus]], may have spent the last years of her life in Ephesus. The Ephesians derived the argument from John's presence in the city, and Jesus' instructions to the "disciple whom he loved" to take care of his mother, Mary, after his death.<ref>{{bibleverse|John|19:27}}</ref> Epiphanius, however, claimed that while the Bible says John was leaving for Asia, it does not say specifically that Mary went with him. He later stated that she was buried in Jerusalem.<ref>Vasiliki Limberis, 'The Council of Ephesos: The Demise of the See of Ephesos and the Rise of the Cult of the Theotokos' in Helmut Koester, ''Ephesos: Metropolis of Asia'' (2004), 327.</ref> Since the 19th century, The [[House of the Virgin Mary]], about {{convert|7|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} from Selçuk, has been considered to have been the last home of Mary, mother of Jesus, before [[Assumption of Mary|her assumption into heaven]] in the Roman Catholic tradition, based on the visions of Augustinian sister the Blessed [[Anne Catherine Emmerich]] (1774–1824). It is a popular place of Catholic pilgrimage which has been visited by three recent popes.

The [[Church of Mary]] near the harbour of Ephesus was the setting for the [[First Council of Ephesus|Third Ecumenical Council]] in 431, which resulted in the condemnation of [[Nestorius]]. A [[Second Council of Ephesus]] was held in 449, but its controversial acts were never approved by the Catholics. It came to be called the ''Robber Council of Ephesus'' or ''Robber Synod of Latrocinium'' by its opponents.

=== Seven Sleepers ===
{{Main|Seven Sleepers}}
[[File:20 YTL arka.jpg|thumb|250px|Image of Ephesus on the reverse of the 20 new lira banknote (2005–2008)]]
Ephesus is believed to be the city of the [[Seven Sleepers]], who were persecuted by the Roman emperor [[Decius]] because of their Christianity, and they slept in a cave for three centuries, outlasting their persecution.

They are considered saints by Catholics and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]] and their story is also mentioned in the [[Qur'an]].<ref>{{cite book|last= O'Mahony|first=Anthony|editor= Bartholomew, Craig G|editor-link= Craig Bartholomew|title=Explorations in a Christian Theology of Pilgrimage |year=2004|publisher= Ashgate|location=Aldershot, England|isbn=0-7546-0856-5|pages=135–6|chapter= Louis Massignon, The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus}}</ref>