Paul made four great missionary journeys. The first took him through Cyprus and into Asia Minor. The second took him into Macedonia and Greece. The third centered on Ephesus. The fourth was not a missionary journey at all: he was arrested in Jerusalem and taken to Rome as a prisoner. This page lays out the routes, the cities, and the chronology.
The First Journey (c. 47–49 AD)
Sent out from Antioch by the church there, Paul and Barnabas travelled first to Cyprus, then to Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe in Asia Minor. The journey is recorded in Acts 13–14. The pattern Paul established here would be repeated: he began in the synagogue, preached to Jews and God-fearers, and was opposed by some, then turned to Gentiles.
The Second Journey (c. 50–53 AD)
After the Council of Jerusalem, Paul set out again, this time with Silas, and later joined by Timothy and Luke. He travelled through Asia Minor, crossed into Macedonia, and established churches at Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. He then went south to Athens and spent eighteen months at Corinth. The journey is recorded in Acts 16–18.
The Third Journey (c. 54–58 AD)
Paul returned to Asia Minor and settled at Ephesus for three years, the longest stay of any of his journeys. From Ephesus he wrote 1 Corinthians. He then travelled through Macedonia and Greece, wrote 2 Corinthians and Romans, and returned to Jerusalem. The journey is recorded in Acts 19–21.
The Fourth Journey (c. 59–60 AD)
Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and imprisoned at Caesarea Maritima for two years. When he appealed to Caesar, he was sent by ship to Rome, with a stop at Malta after a shipwreck. He arrived in Rome around 60 AD and spent two years under house arrest, preaching and writing. The journey is recorded in Acts 27–28.
Beyond Acts
Acts ends with Paul in Rome, without recording his death. Later tradition, preserved in 1 Clement and Eusebius, places his execution in Rome under Nero, probably between 64 and 68 AD. Some scholars believe he was released after the two years of house arrest and made a further journey to Spain (as he had planned in Romans 15:24), then was arrested again and executed. The evidence is not decisive.
Why the Journeys Matter
Paul’s journeys are the mechanism by which the gospel spread across the Mediterranean in thirty years. The roads he travelled, the cities he planted churches in, and the letters he wrote to those churches form the backbone of the New Testament. Understanding the journeys is understanding how the message moved from Jerusalem to Rome.
See the Places page for the cities Paul visited, and the Reading Paul page for the letters he wrote to them.
