Some of them, however, were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks as well.—the innovation (Greek: Hellēnistas or simply Ellēnes, 'Greeks'/'Hellenists'—the text's ambiguity here is significant) marks the first deliberate Gentile mission. The agents are diaspora believers (from Cyprus and Cyrene, both outside Judea), suggesting that geographical distance from Jerusalem's conservatism enables bolder missions. Antioch, a major Hellenistic city, becomes the crucible of Gentile Christianity.

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