Stories from the early church: The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. Acts 11:26

Until Stephen's martyrdom, the early church was only in Galilee, Judea, and Samaria, and the preaching was directed basically to the Jewish converts to the new religion. After this fact, there is a persecution against the church in Jerusalem and many disciples go to Cyprus, Phoenicia, and present-day Turkey.
Antioch was one of the most important cities of the Roman Empire and the capital of the province of Syria. The book of the acts of the apostles tells us how the apostolic church of Antioch was founded, the first church founded outside the holy land:
"Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord." Acts 11:19-21.

Although Peter is considered formally the founder of the Church, the book of Acts tells us that the first authorized missionary by the church of Jerusalem was Bernabas who, together with Paul, carried out an important missionary activity, to the point that it is there where the new religion formally separates of Judaism, and the new believers receive the name that distinguishes them, Christians:
"News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." Acts 11:22-26.
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