Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea (1:11) — seven congregations of the Roman province of Asia (western Asia Minor), listed in exact courier's order: up the coast, then inland and south. Revelation is a circular letter, and the list is its postal route. (This entry keeps the traditional catalogue label 'Seven Churches'; the translation itself reads 'congregation' for ekklēsia — see the dictionary entry for the word, and for King James's rule that forbade Tyndale's rendering.) The first four letters arrive in chapter 2 (each city now has its own entry); Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea receive theirs in chapter 3.