Metropolis of Ephesus
[1] He spent three months teaching in a synagogue in an effort to bring the Jews to accept union with the gentiles in Christianity, but without success.
Ephesus was associated with the lives of several saints of that era, such as the Philip the Evangelist, brother of the Apostle Barnabas, Hermione, Aristobulus, Paul of Thebes, Adauctus and his daughter, Callisthene.
This is mainly evident from the conversion of religious monuments, the increased use of Christian symbols, as well as the destruction of various pagan places of worship.
[8] Although Ephesian ambitions were backed by Constantinople's rival, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 its claims suffered a decisive blow.
[10] Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria presided at the First Council, which was called by the Emperor Theodosius II to resolve the Nestorian controversy.
Two years later, John and Cyril came to a mutual agreement which temporarily resolved the dispute, until Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria, the Champion of Orthodoxy, convened the Second Council of Ephesus.
The bishops of the Diocese of Asia had to renounce the decisions of that council, while the metropolitan of Ephesus, Paul, was deposed during the reign of Emperor Zeno.
On the other hand, the Miaphysite metropolitan John was a significant missionary, who preached in the city of Ephesus as well as in the nearby valley of the Meander River and Sardis.
This resulted in drastic measures by the state, including intervention of the army, under the general Michael Lachanodrakon, and massive expulsions of monks.
In the Notitiae Episcopatuum of the middle and late Byzantine period, Ephesus continued to rank second, after Caesarea, among the metropolis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
[5] In the first half of the 11th century, the stylite Saint Lazaros lived on a column in the wilds of Mount Galesios, a few kilometers to the north of the city.
The local metropolitans were also involved in the Arsenite dispute, which concerned the issues raised after the deposition of Patriarch Arsenios in 1259.
Despite this, due to its ancient prominence the Greek Orthodox Church hierarchy made extraordinary efforts to keep the see in existence.
A new metropolitan, Matthew, was not elected until 1329, and it took ten years of fruitless attempts and bribery of the local emirs before he could actually take up residence in his see.
[16][a] As a result of the Ottoman conquest and subsequent introduction of Islam in the region in the 14th century, the local Christian element declined dramatically.
From the 17th century, as a result of the increase of the Greek Orthodox element in Anatolia, a number of new metropoleis were created and consequently the area of the Metropolis of Ephesus was reduced.
Nevertheless, the jurisdiction of the diocese of Ephesus still included a vast area in western Anatolia and was divided into three metropolitan districts: Magnesia, Kordelio and Kydonies (modern Ayvalık).
However, due to the developments of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 the local Orthodox element evacuated the region in the Greek-Turkish population exchange.
Others said to be buried there include Philip the Evangelist, Saint Hermione, Mary Magdalene, Paul of Thebes, Aristobulus and the martyrs Adauctus and his daughter Callisthene.
Tradition conveys that the church, apart from personal objects of John, also contained the stone on which Jesus' body was rinsed after the Deposition from the cross.
