Upon arrival in Thessaloniki meet the local representative for transfer to hotel.

After breakfast, we depart for Philippi where Paul established a large church. This church was very near and dear to Paul’s heart. (Acts 16:9-33)

Here, we also visit the river where Lydia was baptized and the prison where Paul and Sylas were kept captive.

From Philippi, we head towards Thessalonica where we learn about Paul’s teachings at the old synagogue.  (Acts 17:1-4) We return to hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, we enjoy a panoramic tour of Thessalonica and visit the Old City Walls, the Byzantine church of St. Demetrius and pass by Rotunda and Arch of Galerius. We leave Macedonia and head south to Berea where we see the beautiful mosaics and depictions of Paul’s teachings to the Jews.  (Acts 17:10-11)

From Berea, we continue on our journey towards Kalambaka. 

Dinner will be at our hotel in Kalambaka.

In the morning, we enjoy a spectacular drive up to the UNESCO Heritage site of the Meteora Monasteries. Perched on top of these gigantic geological monoliths are wonderful monasteries, dating back to the 14th century. Inside these Byzantine buildings are icons, old manuscripts, mosaics and frescoes.

From Meteora, we continue our drive southwards to Athens. We arrive late in the afternoon at hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

This morning, our excursion takes us by the Saronic Gulf. It was here in 480 BC that the small Grecian fleet managed to defeat the enormously powerful armada of the Persians.  From here, via the historic Corinthian Canal, we arrive at ancient Corinth.  (Acts 18:1-18)

It was to this megalopolis where the apostle Paul came and worked, established a thriving church, subsequently sending two of his epistles now part of the New Testament.  Here, we see all of the sites associated with his ministry: the Agora, the Temple of Apollo, the Roman Odeon, the Bema and Gallio’s Seat. In Romans 16:23, Paul mentions his friend Erastus and we will see an inscription to him at the site. From here, we see the ruins of early Christian 5th century basilica in Cenchreae before returning to  Athens.

It was the harbor of Corinth, on the Saronic Gulf east whence Paul sailed for Ephesus (Acts 18:18). There was a church here of which Phoebe was a member (Romans 16:1), and Lucius its first bishop, appointed by Paul. There was a temple at the end of each mole and a statue of Poseidon (Neptune) on a rock between as may be seen on an ancient coin of Corinth.

This afternoon, we shall visit the Acropolis Site, the sacred rock of Athens, the citadel and the sanctuary of the city in antiquity. We visit the famous Parthenon and the Erechtheion with its porch of maidens.

We will then walk to nearby Mars Hill and stand on the very spot where Paul gave his famous speech to the Athenian philosophers (Acts 17:18-34) and spoke about the inscription: “to an unknown god”.

Dinner will be at our hotel this evening. A wonderful time to reflect on our experience!

After breakfast, we board flight and depart from Athens.