Faith and mythology
The Seven Churches of Revelation
Key answer
Revelation addresses seven churches in the Roman province of Asia: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. All seven were real cities in what is now western Turkey, and Ephesus — where the list begins — is among the most extensively excavated of them.
Historical Evidence
The seven cities
The cities named in Revelation 2–3 are Ephesus, Smyrna (Izmir), Pergamum (Bergama), Thyatira (Akhisar), Sardis (Sart), Philadelphia (Alasehir) and Laodicea (near Denizli). Each was an established city of Roman Asia connected by the province's road network.
How much survives varies enormously. Ephesus, Pergamon, Sardis and Laodicea have extensive excavated remains; Smyrna and Thyatira lie beneath modern cities; Philadelphia is reduced to fragments.
Belief
What the text does
Revelation addresses each community with praise, criticism and exhortation, in language shaped by that city's own situation. For Christian readers, these are scriptural messages; historically, they are also evidence that organised Christian communities existed in these cities.
This page describes the text and the places. It does not interpret prophecy or tell a reader what the passages mean.
Tradition
Visiting them from an Ephesus base
The seven cities are spread across a wide area of western Turkey and are not a single day's circuit. Ephesus, Pergamon and Sardis are the ones nearest a stay around Selcuk or Kusadasi.
What is realistic on a given date depends on your own arrival, so no route or timing is published here. Ask us and we will confirm what fits.
Common questions
Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea, all in the Roman province of Asia in what is now western Turkey.
No. They are spread across a large part of western Turkey. Ephesus, Pergamon and Sardis are the ones nearest a base around Selcuk or Kusadasi.