BACKGROUND OF THE LETTER
According to Acts 16:9-40 Paul established at Philippi the first Christian community in Europe because Philippi was a city in Northeastern Greece and of some importance in the Roman Province of Macedonia. It was at the time of Paul a Roman Town (Acts 16, 21) with a mixed Greek-Macedonian population and a small group of Jewish settlers (Acts 16, 13). The town was founded originally by Thracians (Red-haired people) the ancestors of Bulgarian and they named the town as Krenides but in 360 BC, Philip II of Macedonia, the Father of Alexander the Great, invaded the town and made it his city "Philips City" where the name Philippi was taken. It became part and territory of the Roman Empire in the 2nd Century BC. It was later made a Roman colony and many veterans of the Roman armies settled there. Thus it is part of Eastern Europe and was the first Christian Community.
Paul came to Philippi via its harbor town of Neapolis (Modern day Kavalla) on his 2nd Missionary journey sometime in 49-50 AD. Together with him were Silas, Timothy, and Luke the author of the Gospel and the Acts. (Acts 15, 40; 16, 3; cf Phil 1,1)
The letter was written while Paul was in prison or in chains while proclaiming the gospel and building up churches. There are many theories as to the date letter was written and where it was written. Some say that it was written while Paul was in prison in Rome. That made the date of writing the letter sometime in late 50's AD.
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