{
  "id": "dict_004428",
  "term": "Philippi",
  "slug": "philippi",
  "letter": "P",
  "entry_type": "biblical_place",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Philippi was a major Roman colony in Macedonia where Paul preached the gospel, saw converts such as Lydia and the Philippian jailer, and helped establish a Christian church.",
  "simple_one_line": "A Roman colony in Macedonia where Paul first ministered in Europe and where the church to whom he wrote Philippians was established.",
  "tooltip_text": "A Roman colony in Macedonia noted in Acts 16 as the site of Paul’s missionary work and the founding of the Philippian church.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Acts",
    "Philippians",
    "Lydia",
    "Paul the Apostle",
    "Macedonia"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Roman colony",
    "Via Egnatia",
    "Silas",
    "Jailor of Philippi"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Philippi was an important Roman colony in Macedonia and a key location in the apostle Paul’s missionary ministry. It is remembered for the conversion of Lydia, the Philippian jailer, and the founding of a church that later received Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "Philippi is a New Testament city in Macedonia that became one of the earliest centers of Christian witness in Europe.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Roman colony in Macedonia on a major travel route",
    "Scene of Paul’s ministry in Acts 16",
    "Lydia and the jailer were among the first converts there",
    "Became the home of the Philippian church",
    "The recipient of Paul’s letter to the Philippians"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Philippi was a Roman colony in Macedonia and an important setting in the New Testament mission of Paul. According to Acts 16, Paul and his companions preached there, Lydia was converted, and a church was formed despite opposition. The city is also the destination of Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians.",
  "description_academic_full": "Philippi was an important Macedonian city and Roman colony that appears prominently in the New Testament. It is best known as the place where Paul first brought the gospel into that region during his missionary travels, as recorded in Acts 16. There Lydia believed the message, Paul and Silas were imprisoned, and the Philippian jailer was converted, showing both the advance of the gospel and the cost of faithful witness. Philippi later became home to a Christian congregation that Paul addressed in the Letter to the Philippians. The term refers primarily to a biblical place rather than a theological concept, but the city is significant because of the events and church associated with it.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Philippi enters the New Testament in Acts 16 during Paul’s second missionary journey. The gospel came there after Paul’s Macedonian call, and the city became the setting for notable conversions, miraculous deliverance, and the establishment of a local church. Paul later referred to suffering in Philippi and maintained a warm partnership with the believers there.",
  "background_historical_context": "Philippi was a Roman colony in eastern Macedonia, strategically located along major travel and trade routes. Its Roman status gave it civic prestige and a strongly Roman character. This setting helps explain the legal and social tensions Paul and Silas faced in Acts 16.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "As a largely Gentile Greco-Roman city, Philippi had a different cultural setting from Judea and the synagogue-centered environments of many other mission fields. Acts 16 suggests a place of prayer outside the city, indicating a small Jewish presence rather than a major Jewish population.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Acts 16:12-40",
    "Philippians 1:1",
    "Philippians 4:15-16"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Acts 20:6",
    "1 Thessalonians 2:2"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Greek: Φίλιπποι (Philippoi). The name is commonly understood as deriving from Philip II of Macedon.",
  "theological_significance": "Philippi is significant because it marks an early and strategic advance of the gospel into Macedonia and, by extension, into Europe. The city is associated with conversion, suffering for the sake of Christ, church planting, and generous gospel partnership. It also illustrates how the Lord builds his church in ordinary urban settings through preaching, providence, and faithful witness.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "Philippi is not an abstract doctrine but a real place where historical events carried theological meaning. In Scripture, geography often serves redemptive history: a city, road, prison, or household can become the stage on which God displays saving power and forms a community of faith.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not treat Philippi as a theological concept in itself. Its importance comes from the biblical events connected with the city, especially in Acts and Philippians. Avoid confusing the city with the letter named after it, though the two are closely linked.",
  "major_views_note": "There is broad agreement that Philippi was the Macedonian city where Paul first ministered in the region and that the Philippian church was formed there. The main discussions concern historical details of the city’s status and exact location, not its biblical identity.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "Philippi is a biblical place-name and should not be read as evidence for doctrines beyond what the connected passages actually teach. Its theological value lies in the history of redemption, missionary expansion, and local church life recorded in Scripture.",
  "practical_significance": "Philippi encourages believers that the gospel takes root in real places, amid hardship as well as fruitfulness. It also highlights the importance of local churches, gospel partnership, generosity, and perseverance under pressure.",
  "meta_description": "Philippi was a Roman colony in Macedonia where Paul preached, Lydia and the jailer were converted, and the Philippian church was established.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/philippi/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/philippi.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}