Illyricum was a region administered by the Romans on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, originally inhabited by the Illyrian people. It covered part of what are today the territories of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania.
The Bible mentions Illyricum only once, in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Recounting his missionary work, he says he preached the gospel from Jerusalem and its surroundings all the way to Illyricum.
The text does not record that Paul preached within Illyricum itself. The mention marks instead the geographic reach of his work, from the spiritual capital of Judaism to the western edges of the world as he knew it.
Even this brief reference reveals Paul’s missionary drive. He measured his calling by the extent of territory still without the gospel, not by comfort.
