April 18, 2024 - Vergina, Berea, Thessalonica

April 18 - Vergina, Berea, Thessalonica

Itinerary Notes: Traveling northward into Macedonia we visit King Phillip's (Alexander's father) tomb in Vergina, one of the most outstanding finds in all of Greece. A stop will be made in Berea to view the ancient synagogue where Paul spoke and the Bema, surrounded by mosaics of Paul and the plaque of scripture regarding the "more noble" church. The New Testament books of I & II Thessalonians will come alive to us today as we arrive in the delightful harbor city of Thessalonica. En route to the hotel we will view the old city ramparts; the newly excavated Forum, St. George Church, an ancient Roman monument which was transformed into a church, and the Galerius Arch which rises over the famous Via Egnatia.

Ronnie's FaceBook post:

The morning clouds and mountains were glorious as we left Meteora Monastery and continued north to Vergina to visit the underground tomb (turned into a museum) of Phillip II, a smart tribal ruler who united Greeks into a nation. His tomb was not discovered by grave robbers, so it made a marvelous site for a museum when it was found intact (along with those of other family members). His crown of pure gold was displayed, along with others. The site rivals that of finding Tutankhamun's tomb. I photographed a reconstruction of Phillip's face where he lost an eye in battle. In those days, leaders (kings) lead their troops in battle, unlike today's leaders.

 

 

view from balcony, Meteora

 

Tomb of Phillip II was only discovered in 1977

 

artist drawing of Phillip II

crown worn by Phillip II

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

armor worn by Phillip II

 

 

Following Paul's 2nd missionary journey (backward), we rode a bus to Berea (Acts 17:10-12) where Paul fled from a mob at Thessalonica. We visited a monument to the Paul and the Berean people who noted as "more noble" than those in Thessalonica. When Paul first visited the town, it had a large population of Jews who were willing to study their Scriptures and reason about Paul's argument that Jesus fulfilled the Messianic prophecies (the book Messianic Christolology by Fruchtenbaum has helped me most in this area).

 

 

 

believed to be the steps from which Paul addressed the crowds in 51AD

 

 

 

mosaics of Paul teaching the Bereans

 

mosaic of Paul's call

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The modern city of Thessaloniki surrounds the uncovered ruins of the ancient city (see photo). In Thessalonica, some Jews and God-fearing Gentiles believe while other Jews started a riot (Acts 17:1–9). Some of the believers Paul encountered in the Synagogue might have been Jews that were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Weeks when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13).

 

I forgot to mention that earlier we visited the memorial to the 300 Greeks that resisted the million man army of the Persians. If you want to understand that history, watch the movie 300.

 

 

 

remains of ancient city of Thessalonica

 

Jan's note:

Since we were already there, our guide took us through Holy Church of Saint Demetrios, Patron Saint of Thessaloniki (it was only a block from where our van was waiting). Naturally I snapped a few photos.

 

Holy Church of Saint Demetrios

 

 

 

candles and prayers

 

priests outside the church

 

 

P.S. We arrived home last night at 3:30am (Sunday) after 30 hours of travel. Our 12 hour flight to Houston was diverted to New Orleans, or we would have arrived home by 7pm, Saturday evening. I have one more post to make of our last day. But now we're trying to get over jet lag!