Cenchrea

Cenchrea — the eastern port of Corinth — has a single in-scope appearance, and it is the appearance that matters most for the place's place in the New Testament: a Christian congregation has been planted there, and one of its members carries the letter to the Romans.

The Church at Cenchreae

Paul opens the long greetings of Romans 16 by commending the bearer: "I commend to you⁺ Phoebe, our sister, and who is a servant of the church that is at Cenchreae:" (Ro 16:1). Cenchreae appears here only as a locator for the church Phoebe serves — but the locator is itself the point. There is a church at the port, with a recognized servant in it, and the apostle counts on the Romans to receive her on that footing.