The Christian Flight to Pella? The Archaeological Picture

Abstract

There has been much debate over the historicity of the reported migration of the members of the church of Jerusalem to the Transjordanian city of Pella before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Confirmation of this episode, often referred to as the "flight to Pella," has been of particular interest to those investigating the nature and chronology of the divergence of Christianity from Judaism. If it occurred, the migration to Pella could be seen as an early signal of distinction of one entity from the other, whether evidence of a sharp break or part of a process of separation that began in the first century.