Jerusalem was the established mother church. The church of the apostles. Where Pentecost happened. Antioch was the younger daughter, the mission congregation. Persecution drove believers from Jerusalem to the coast of Phoenicia, to the island of Cyprus, and to Antioch in Syria.
Persecution is never pleasant.
But sometimes God uses it to get the Church out of her comfort zone. Imagine how hard it must have been for those people. Driven from their homes. Separated from family. Without work, income.