When I lived in Jerusalem, I had the opportunity to visit Greece twice, and during those travels I spent time at Thessaloniki, Philippi, Athens, and Corinth. I was fortunate to be the chaplain for a couple of courses directed by St. George’s College in Jerusalem on the Apostle Paul and the churches in Greece.
I also had the opportunity to visit Istanbul briefly when the Episcopal Church brought together me and other appointed missionaries throughout the Middle East for a professional retreat and conference. But I never had the opportunity to visit much of Türkiye while living in the Holy Land, and it has been a longtime desire of mine to see Ephesus and other early church sites throughout Western Türkiye.
So when our own Randy Furushima told me about a pilgrimage he was coordinating throughout Greece and Türkiye that would focus on the early churches of Saint Paul, as well as the churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation, I was very interested. When he mentioned that the itinerary included a visit to the island of Patmos to pray where John the Beloved Disciple was exiled, I knew I must go.
In actuality this trip was to have happened in 2022, but because of the pandemic, this pilgrimage was postponed to April and May of 2023. Originally this excursion was not to be the start of my sabbatical, but alas, the pandemic changed so many of our well-intentioned plans. Thus, Jayson and I flew to Türkiye on April 26 for a 15 day pilgrimage, immersing ourselves into the early church.
I had been told that travel in Türkiye can be tiring due to the size of the country, and this advice was very true. We stayed in a different hotel almost every night, and every day we were up early to see the sites, and we finished late. There is so much to see and absorb, and the layers of history presented in each location have very deep stories to tell.
In Türkiye we mostly focused on the Churches of the Book of Revelation: Ephesus, Smyrna, Philadelphia, Sardis, Laodicea, Pergamum, and Thyatira. Some of these ancient cities have extensive archaeological ruins to visit, while other are quite small and undeveloped. Each tells a fascinating story regarding Greek and Roman civilizations, the early church, and modern culture. We also spent time in Istanbul, making the requisite visits to Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace, and we were able to visit the Dardanelles in remembrance of the Gallipoli Campaign. Due to the current elections, the current political atmosphere was also in the minds of everyone. All of this was done in one week!
Then it was off to Greece. We travelled the Egnatian Way as Saint Paul did, making visits across Macedonia, seeing the ancient sites of the various churches, while also learning about the Orthodox Church in modern Greece. Traveling southward through Greece, we eventually arrived at Athens, soaking up the history there, and then it was off to Patmos via a ferry. After an overnight on that island, we ferried back to Athens for a final day in Corinth, and then it was back to the United States.
What was nice about this journey is that it was a pilgrimage that blended the history of each place with the story of the Christian faith. We learned about Greek and Roman conquests, and we learned about the nascent churches growing into the stature of Christ. Several of us had been assigned to lead reflections for the group, and interestingly, I did a devotion on the first day of the pilgrimage in Laodicea, as well as on the last day of the pilgrimage in Corinth. Our group of pilgrims was very diverse and ecumenical in regard to Christianity, so we learned much from each other.
We are now off to England for a different type of pilgrimage, focusing on Anglican spirituality. Check out the more specific updates of various locations I have included, and stay tuned for other reflections from our upcoming time in England.
Father Paul Lillie +
