St Paul brings the Word to Asia

As the Gospel of Jesus Christ began to spread St Paul took the Word to Asia Minor, modern day Turkey. The scenery has changed little over the past two thousand years, and to sail these seas and visit the sites Paul visited is to experience the ambience of those heady days of the beginning of our faith

The Seven Churches

The Seven Churches of Asia mentioned by John in the Book of Revelation. He talked about the churches at Smyrna, modern Izmir, Pergamum, still in remarkable condition, Thyatira, Philadelphia, Sardis, ancient capital of Croesus, Laodicea and, of course, the great city of Ephesus, where Mary, Jesus’ mother, was said to have spent the last years of her life.

A Christian Empire

Testimony of the importance of Asia Minor in the history of the Early Church is the fact that it was here that the first Christian state arose, the Byzantine Empire, which was to keep the light of Christianity alive for over a thousand years when Rome had been overrun by barbarians. There are powerful echoes of these ecclesiastical pioneers in the many early Byzantine remains which can still be found around these shores.

Journey of devotion

We have found with other Christian groups that the atmosphere of the ancient sites imparts a deep spiritual dimension to the tour and allows for devotional moments at appropriate places on the way. Meanwhile, the seclusion of the cruise, while invoking a true sense of pilgrimage, also engenders a profound sense of fellowship.