Seven churches of Asia

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For the Possessed album, see Seven Churches

The seven churches of Asia (properly Asia Minor), also known as the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse, are seven major churches of early Christianity, as mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation. All the sites are in modern-day Turkey. In Revelation, Jesus Christ instructs 'Saint John the Evangelist' to:

Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. (Revelation 1:11, NRSV)

It should be understood that "churches" in this context refers to the community of Christians living in each city, and not merely to the building or buildings in which they gathered for worship.^{[citation needed]}

The seven churches are located in:

• Ephesus (also see Church of Mary)
• Smyrna
• Pergamum
• Thyatira
• Sardis (the See of Sardis)
• Philadelphia
• and Laodicea, near Denizli (see Laodicean Church)

[edit] See also

• Eastern Christianity
• Summary of Christian eschatological differences