Footsteps of Paul Familiarization Trip for Pastors

The day has arrived and we depart the U.S. on an overnight journey to Greece.

Today we arrive in Greece at Thessaloniki Airport (SKG). We will transfer to our hotel, where we spend the night. D.

Overnight Thessaloniki

We head to Philippi, where we see the site where it is believed that Lydiaʼs heart was opened by God to the Gospel (Acts 16:14). We also see the likely site of Paulʼs imprisonment in Philippi in Acts 16. It was here that Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God in spite of their imprisonment, and here that an earthquake shook the prison so that the doors flew open and the prisonersʼ chains came loose, leading the jailer to contemplate suicide before famously asking Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (v. 30). We also see the Acropolis, Marketplace, Basilica and Theater before heading on to Neapolis. Neapolis, now called Kavala, is where Paul once landed with Timothy and Silas. We see Kavalaʼs Roman Aqueduct and Acropolis. B, L, D.

Overnight Thessaloniki

We tour Thessaloniki, where Paul preached and founded a Church to which he wrote the Epistles of 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. We see sites like the old city walls, theater, and Roman market. We head to Berea (now called Veria), where Paul and Silas went after they caused a riot in Thessalonica (Acts 17). The Bereans were an example to all subsequent generations of Christians, in that they “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (v. 11). We see the location from which Paul preached to the Bereans. B, L, D.

Overnight Kalambaka

Today we visit Mount Olympus. In Greek mythology, Mount Olympus was the home of the home of the gods. There we will learn about the ancient Greek religion which formed some of the background against which Paul proclaimed the Gospel. We will move on to visit the awe-inspiring Meteora Monasteries, perched high on rocky cliffs. B, L, D.

Overnight Kalambaka

Today we make our way to Athens. En route we stop at Thermopylae, the site of the famous Battle of Thermopylae, fought in 480 BC between the Persians led by Xerxes I and the Spartans under Leonidas I. We will learn about this important moment in Greek history, which will shed light on the world to which Paul preached the Gospel during his missionary journeys. The ongoing relevance of this battle to Hellenistic cultural consciousness throughout and even after the biblical period is reflected, for example, by Origen’s (AD 185-254) reference to it in his important work, Against Celsus. B, L, D.

Overnight Athens

Today we tour Athens. We will visit Plato’s Academy and the Plaka neighborhood, one of the oldest sections of Athens. We will visit the Acropolis and Parthenon, as well as Mars Hill, where Paul famously preached his sermon about the “unknown God” who had made himself known in Jesus in Acts 17. B, L, D. 

Overnight Athens

Today we visit Corinth. Paul arrived in Corinth in AD 50-51, and he likely wrote First Thessalonians and Romans from here. We will visit the archaeological site, which includes the Temple of Apollo, the Roman agora, the Bema courthouse (where Paul’s enemies brought him before Gallio, Acts 18:12), the pavement inscription of Erastus, the Roman Lechaion Road, and the lower Fountaine of Peirene. Afterwards we will return to Athens where we will have time at leisure. B, L, D.

Your flight home may depart either late tonight or the following day. If the following day and an overnight is required, overnight Athens.

Your flight home may depart either the previous night or today. If today and time allows, breakfast is included today. Either way, today we will arrive back in the US.