Galatia, or Eastern Gaul

(Acts 16:6) — a region of Asia Minor, lying to the east of Phrygia, and taking its name Galatia from the Galatians, warlike tribes of Gallic, or Celtic, origin, who settled there, having crossed the Hellespont around the year 280 B.C. and taken up residence in Asia Minor. After a brief resistance, Galatia submitted before the Roman legions and became a Roman province in the year 26 A.D. Because of the intermixture of Celts with Greeks, who made up its population, it was sometimes called Gallo-Graecia, since Gauls, Celts, and Galatians are only different forms of one and the same designation.

Christianity was planted in Galatia by St. the Apostle Paul, who was there once with Silas and Timothy (Acts 16:6) around 53 A.D., and a second time some 4 or 5 years later, upon his return from Corinth (Acts 18:23). The Galatian church, soon after Paul’s second visit to it, was disturbed by the false teaching of Judaizing Christians, who, out of their attachment to the ancient rites, tried to place this yoke also upon Christians from among the pagans (Gal. 4:17; 5:1), and, in order to accomplish this more effectively, they tried to belittle the dignity of the Apostle Paul (Gal. 1:11).

Many of the believers were drawn over to their side (Gal. 1:6; 3:1; 5:1–9). This was not a little assisted by the circumstance that, sheltering behind the name of the circumcised, they hoped to escape persecution for their faith in Christ (Gal. 6:12). Through this there began to spread distorted notions about the law and the faith of the Gospel (1:6; 3:1), and other vices crept in as well (4:9–11; 5:13–15). As a consequence of these circumstances the Apostle Paul wrote the epistle to the Galatians at Ephesus in the year 56, with his own hand (6:11).

In this epistle the Apostle Paul defends his apostolic ministry against slander, gives a sketch of his life since his conversion, explains the errors concerning the ceremonial law, explains the essence of justification through faith in Christ, and not from the works of the law, and offers various moral instructions (5 and 11 [as given]). The epistle consists of 6 chapters and occupies the eleventh place in the series of apostolic epistles. In it, among other things, it speaks with particular force of the redemption of the human race through the crucifixion-sufferings of the Lord Jesus, in the following words: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (3:13).

“For it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Deut. 21:23); and likewise concerning the incarnation of the Son of God: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son (the Only-begotten), made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (4:4, 5).