Bithynia

Bithynia is a Roman province on the south coast of the Black Sea, named in scripture as one of the regions of Asia Minor where Christian "sojourners of the Dispersion" lived. The single in-scope occurrence sits in the address line of 1 Peter, where the province is the eastern endpoint of the arc of provinces that the letter is sent to.

The Address of 1 Peter

The opening of the letter places Bithynia at the end of a five-province list: "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the elect who are sojourners of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you⁺ and peace be multiplied" (1 Pe 1:1-2). The five names sweep across the northern and western half of Asia Minor; Bithynia closes the loop along the Black Sea coast. The recipients there are described in the same terms as those in the other four provinces — "elect," "sojourners of the Dispersion," held within a single covenant frame of foreknowledge, sanctification, obedience, and sprinkled blood.