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September 18, 2019On Sunday, we were out the door at 6am and headed towards Athens International Airport. A few hours later, we had landed on the island of Crete.
Our first stop, before we had even gone to our hotel, was Knossos. The ancient Minoan city was home to one of the oldest civilisations in history. The ruins are hard to pick out, since an excavation some decades ago included the reconstruction (in concrete) of the vast palace complex. Walking around the various rooms and stores, Manos gave us an insight into life in the first European civilisation on record.
After lunch, we walked through Heraklion. Under the afternoon sun, every glimpse of the sea made it more difficult to continue with the walking tour. However, it was worth it when, after a short while, we arrived at the church of St Titus. The companion of St Paul was the first bishop of Crete, and the devotion that people have for him there is admirable. His skull lies in a silver reliquary in a small side chapel.
Next stop: another museum! This time, the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. The times on display include finds from excavations at the Minoan settlements of Knossos and Phaistos. In my opinion, some of the most impressive pieces were the frescoes from Knossos, with their vibrant colours, which had been reconstructed in the museum.
We arrived at our hotel on the coast around 12 hours after we had left the Retreat Centre on mainland Greece behind. After celebrating Sunday Mass, I had a couple of drinks with some classmates and chatted about everything that we had seen in the short time since arriving in Greece.
On Monday, we were back on the trail of St Paul. I must admit that I had forgotten that Paul had been on Crete, so arriving at Fair Havens was another memorable experience.
The natural harbour, the name of which we know from Acts 27, is the place where St Paul set sail for Rome and martyrdom on his fourth and final missionary journey. Naturally enough, we listened to a reading of the passage while standing on the beach. The event is commemorated, as most Pauline events are in Greece, by a church, which stands on the cliffs overlooking Fair Havens. The church, which stands near the cave where tradition tells us Paul slept, was recently renovated by the Orthodox Patriarch.
From Fair Havens, and after lunch, we travelled to Phaistos, the site of the second most important Minoan settlement after Knossos. The heat was intense on Monday, so we didn’t spend too long walking around the ruins, but what was obvious was the scale of the ancient palace complex there.
After visiting Phaistos, we travelled to Gortyn. This ancient city-state is famous for two reasons. First, it is now the site of the ruins of the basilica of St Titus. Under the shadow of those ruins, we heard a reading from St Paul’s letter to his friend and collaborator. Second, the city was the site of an ancient odeon, on the walls of which is inscribed a 2,500-year-old legal code called the Gortyn code. It is the earliest known example of a legal code being recorded in such a way.
Our return to the hotel on Monday evening all but marked the end of our tour of Greece, following in the footsteps of St Paul. All that remained were the exams, which would take place late on Tuesday morning.
The earlier part of Tuesday morning was spent revising the notes that had been taken in the lectures and around the various archaeological sites and museums that we had visited. After the exam, which I’m glad to report went well, a celebratory drink with friends preceded lunch and a siesta.
The afternoon, which was free, was happily spent on the beach and by the pool. With my headphones in and my suncream on, I reflected on everything that I had seen in just two weeks (in between sleeping, of course).
Fr Scott had told us that the primary objective of the course was to help us to better know St Paul. Walking on the same roads that he had followed, standing on the platforms and in the squares where he had been stood on trial, seeing the ancient cities that he had seen and worked and lived in, I am happy to sign off with the report that I will never read St Paul’s letters in the same way again.
Monday 16th September
Saturday was a LONG day. We left the Retreat Centre early in the morning and travelled to Athens, where we spent the entire day.Our first stop was the National Archaeological Museum. Many of the items found in excavations across Greece, including several of the archaeological sites we have already visited, are housed there. We saw everything from jewellery and weapons to pottery and utensils. Needless to say, the death masks made of pure gold made an impression!
From the museum, we climbed up to the world-famous Acropolis of Athens. The skyline of the entire city is dominated by the ruins of the impressive Parthenon, which was certainly one of the highlights of the visit to the ancient citadel. The hill has been inhabited for around 6,000 years, and the Parthenon and other iconic buildings were constructed around 2,500 years ago.
The other highlight came as we came down from the Acropolis. From the steps, we were shown the Areopagus. In classical times, the rock outcropping served as a court for trying murder and cases involving religious matters. Here, St Paul preached his famous Areopagus sermon (Acts 17:22-31):
‘Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things...
A plaque with the words of Paul’s sermon is fixed to the Areopagus, marking this incredible moment in the history of the church. Here, Paul used his knowledge of another culture to make sense of the Gospel for the Athenians. Standing on the Areopagus, looking up at the Acropolis and seeing the ruins of the Athens that St Paul saw, was certainly another highlight of this pilgrimage.
In the afternoon, we visited the Acropolis Museum. By then, I must admit, I was exhausted, and I didn’t take in as much as I should have. This wasn’t helped by the fact that the relics of the Little Flower were arriving in our diocese at the same time; I took myself away and watched the live footage. Nevertheless, the extent of the archaeological finds from the Acropolis is incredible. This centre of the ancient world has offered up many treasures for us.
After a long and busy day, we arrived back at the Retreat Centre, tired and hungry. We celebrated an evening Mass, as has been the norm on this pilgrimage, and after some supper, I went to bed knowing that we would have an even earlier start on Sunday morning; we would be leaving mainland Greece for Crete.
On Friday, we left the Retreat Centre and headed towards Corinth, where St Paul lived and worked. In fact, the city made such an impression on the Apostle to the Gentiles that he returned twice to be with the faithful there.Before we arrived in Ancient Corinth, we had two stops to make. The first was the Corinth Canal, which connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. In fact, it actually makes the Peloponnese peninsula an island, since it cuts through the Isthmus of Corinth.
Next, we visited Acrocorinth. The Acropolis at Corinth is recognised as the most impressive acropolis in mainland Greece. The climb was tough, but the views over Ancient Corinth, the Gulf of Corinth and the Aegean Sea are spectacular.
Then, finally, we arrived in Ancient Corinth. I had been looking forward to this visit for a long time, and I was not disappointed. The ruins are incredible, but what is more amazing is the knowledge that St Paul lived and worked in this Greco-Roman city.
We stopped twice to listen to some words from Scripture. The first passage was 1 Corinthians 13; Paul’s famous discourse on love, which is often read at weddings. What is love? It is patient and kind... It struck me, listening to this well-known passage in the city where its recipients lived, that Paul had surely loved the faithful at Corinth to whom he wrote.
The second passage was Acts 18:12-17, where we heard about Paul’s encounter with the Corinthian Jews. He was brought to Proconsul Gallio (whose name we had seen earlier in our pilgrimage, on the Delphi Inscription), at the Bema. After we read this passage, we actually walked onto the raised platform where Paul met Gallio. The tribunal is commemorated by a passage from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians (4:17):
For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
Thankfully, Gallio was impartial, and he dismissed Paul from the tribunal. This allowed the Apostle to the Gentiles to continue on his missionary journey, spreading the Good News of Christ around the world.
Without a doubt, Corinth—and particularly standing on the Bema where he stood on trial—has been the highlight of this pilgrimage for me, so far.
Friday 13th September
For the past three days, our morning have been filled with lectures. Subjects have included Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, with an in-depth study of the Christological hymn (2:6-11); the Jewish Diaspora in the Greco-Roman world, especially during Paul’s time there; the ancient roads and routes that made Paul’s journey possible; and the art and archaeological findings from sites related to Paul’s second missionary journey.On Tuesday afternoon, we visited the Byzantine and Christian Museum at Athens. The building, unimpressive as it is from the outside, is filled with stunning icons and artefacts from the Eastern liturgies.
On Wednesday afternoon, we visited the Hosios Meletios monastery, which was founded around AD 1080. Afterwards, we were able to relax for a while at the beach at Porto Germeno.
On Thursday afternoon, we travelled to Eleusis, which was a significant sanctuary in Ancient Greece. The sprawling archaeological site was impressive, even if the guard didn’t take her eyes off of us the entire time. While we were there, we were able to walk on a short length of the ancient Via Sacra (Sacred Way), a road that connected the sanctuary at Eleusis with the ancient Athenian sanctuary.
Wednesday 11th September
From Delphi, we travelled more than 200km southwest towards the famous Olympia. Our journey took us across the Gulf of Corinth and onto the Peloponnese, a peninsula in southern Greece.Once we had arrived in Olympia and checked into the next hotel, we were able to rest for an hour before meeting Manos and walking to Ancient Olympia.
The archaeological site is well preserved. Olympia was once a major religious sanctuary in Ancient Greece, with its incredible Temple of Zeus and the Temple of Hera.
The Olympic Games have their roots there. We visited the stadium, where citizens of the Hellenic world would come every four years as spectators and athletes. Even now, the Olympic flame is lit on the ancient altar of Hera.
We took plenty of photos in and around the stadium (including a few selfies), and some of our group even raced.
On Monday morning, we checked out and left Olympia behind, bound for the Jesuit-run Manresa Retreat Centre in Oinoi. However, we first had some more sightseeing to do.
We travelled to Mycenae, an archaeological site 900m above sea level in northeastern Peloponnese. The citadel was once a military stronghold and a major centre of Greek civilisation. It was so significant, in fact, that an entire period in Greek history (1600 - 1100 BC) is named after the city.
After climbing to the ruins of the palace at the top of the hill, we visited the Tomb of Agamemnon. The huge, beehive-shaped tomb was built around 1250 BC. To give you an idea of scale, the lintel around the doorway alone weighs around 120 tonnes.
From there, we visited Epidaurus. The small town was renowned for its theatre and for the asclepeion, the most celebrated healing center of the Classical world. Asclepius was the healer god, and his sanctuary was famous and prosperous for centuries.
Eventually, we arrived at the Manresa Retreat Centre. Finally, we were unable to unpack! We will spend six nights in Oinoi, and lectures began this morning.
Sunday 8th September
After our visit to Vergina, we travelled to Meteora, an incredible rock formation in central Greece and the site of one of the largest and most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in the world.
First, we climbed up to the Monastery of St Barbara. Nuns have lived in this small nunnery since the middle of the sixteenth century. In the chapel, Manos explained some of the features of Eastern iconography, including the use of colours: red signifies divine life, while blue signifies human life; gold, the glory of heaven, and white, divine light.
After we descended one mountain, we climbed another (although, in a coach) to visit the Holy Monastery of St Stephen. This incredible place, built in the sixteenth century, was shelled by the Nazis during WWII. In the 1960s, nuns returned and rebuilt on the impressive site.
After another long day, we were glad to check in to our hotel in Kalambaka, even if it was only for one night.
On Saturday, we spent a lot of time on the coach, travelling toward Delphi. Our first stop was the site of the Battle of Thermopylae, where, in 480 BC, Leonidas of Sparta and his men held off a Persian invasion for three days before dying heroically. Their actions had a great influence on the course of history in the west.
Afterwards, we travelled to the historic Hosios Loukas monastery, which was founded in the early 10th century AD. There, Manos pointed out some of the features of iconography that he had mentioned earlier, and we were able to celebrate Mass outside a small chapel in the grounds.
From the monastery, we travelled to Delphi. The ancient city was hugely significant for the Greeks as the seat of the oracle who was consulted about decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The city, even in ruins, is incredible to behold. Standing tall on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, the remaining columns of the Temple of Apollo cast a shadow over the theatre, the treasuries and the Omphalos (the ‘navel of the earth’), which the Greeks believed marked the central point of the world.
A visit to the Archæological Museum, full of interesting finds from Delphi, marked the end of another long but enjoyable day. One of the most interesting finds is the Delphi Inscription; it is a letter, carved in stone, from the Roman Emperor Claudius to the local Proconsul Lucius Junius Gallio, who is best known for his impartial judgement of St Paul. The Inscription is an important extra-biblical marker for creating a chronology of Paul’s missions.
We checked into the third hotel of our trip, and I had an early night in Delphi.
Friday 6th September
On Friday morning, we checked out of the hotel and left Thessalonika behind. Our final destination that evening would be Kalambaka, a town 230km southwest of Thessalonika.Our first stop was Veria. Like others on the coach, I wasn’t familiar with the name of this small town, but Fr Scott (the professor in charge of the trip) had probably banked on this. When we arrived, he had arranged for someone to read a passage from the Acts of the Apostles (17:10-15):
10 The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea; and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessaloni′ca, for they received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews of Thessaloni′ca learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Beroea also, they came there too, stirring up and inciting the crowds. 14 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
Veria, then, is Beroea, where Paul famously preached and converted some of Europe’s earliest Christians. He received such a warm welcome in 50 AD that he returned seven years later. A huge statute of the apostle has been erected on the spot where he preached.
From Veria, we took a break from following Paul to travel to Vergina. Here, under a huge burial mound, we visited the museum that houses the magnificent tombs of the Macedonian royal family, including the intact tomb of Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great, who died in 336 BC. The museum is full of frescos, weapons, jewellery and remains, as well as vast amounts of gold from the tombs.
Wed 4th September
We left Rome for Thessalonika—via Athens—on Wednesday morning. After a couple of short flights and longer delays, we arrived late in the evening at our hotel, near the seafront in Thessalonika.
On Thursday morning, after an early breakfast, we met our guide for the trip. Manos is leading our pilgrimage, in Italian, around some of the more significant Greek sites associated with the Apostle to the Gentiles, St Paul.
We travelled first to the site of the first baptism in Europe, where Paul baptised Lydia, a woman in the purple cloth trade. There, on the riverbank, we celebrated Mass and then visited the modern Baptistry, with its beautiful icons and mosaics.
Afterwards, we visited Kavala (once called Neapolis), the port town where Paul and his companions arrived in Macedonia. After some lunch, we travelled back towards the site of Lydia’s baptism, headed for Philippi.
There, we were taken around the ancient Greek theatre, built by Philip II and later converted into an arena by the Romans. After listening to the words of the Gospel about Paul’s (rather fraught) time in Philippi, we traced his steps around the Agora, where he had been stripped and flogged. We then visited the prison where he had been held and from which he had been liberated by an earthquake.
Returning to Thessalonika, we visited the church of St Demetrios, the patron saint of the city. Manos told us about the life and martyrdom of the Roman soldier, and invited us to venerate his relics.
Dinner back at the hotel brought a busy day but wonderful day to an end. Well, almost. I had a beer with some friends before going to bed and setting the alarm for 6.30am (again).
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