The Jews had no synagogue, only a spot by the river-side in the
suburbs, where a few met together on the sabbath. His first convert
was Lydia of Thyatira, who was a seller of purple-dyed {190} goods; her
house became the centre of the Philippian Church. The imprisonment of
St. Paul and St. Silas in consequence of St. Paul's exorcising a
heathen slave-girl who professed to be inspired, is one of the most
dramatic incidents in Acts. When St. Paul was released he left the
town, but returned there, in all probability, in A.D. 55, on his third
journey while travelling to Corinth. In A.D. 56 he was there once
more, and the last Easter before his imprisonment was spent with these
beloved converts (Acts xx. 6).

The Christians of Philippi were pre-eminent in the affections of St.
Paul. He calls them, like the Thessalonians, his "joy and crown" (iv.
1), and they alone of his children had the privilege of ministering to
his personal necessities.

[Sidenote: Where and when written.]

It may be regarded as almost certain that St. Paul wrote this Epistle
in Rome. He was a prisoner, as we see in Phil. i. 7, 13, 14, 17. He
sends greeting from those of Caesar's household (iv. 22). The first
and last chapters imply that he is in the midst of an active Church,
and that he is the centre to which messengers come and from which they
go. This accords with the apostle's treatment at Rome. One phrase,
however, has been thought to suggest Caesarea rather than Rome. It is
"the whole praetorium" (i. 13). This might mean the praetorium or
palace of Herod Agrippa II. at Caesarea, but it is possible that it has
quite a different meaning. It may either be the imperial guard or the
supreme imperial court before which St. Paul had to be judged. The
latter interpretation is that suggested by the great historian Mommsen,
and seems to be the most satisfactory explanation.

The meaning of the phrase has an important bearing upon the date of the
Epistle. If it was not written at Caesarea, it must have been written
at Rome between A.D. 59 and A.D. 61. But the critics who are agreed
that it was composed at Rome, are divided as to the place which it
occupies among the Epistles which St. Paul wrote during his
imprisonment. Some {191} place it first, because the vigorous style,
and many of the phrases, suggest that it was written not very long
after Romans. Others, with greater probability, place it last among
the Epistles of the captivit