Itinerary

Day 1, Saturday 16th February

Journeying to the Holy Land

We meet our Lightline representative at London Heathrow Airport and check-in for our evening flight to Tel Aviv. Dinner served in-flight.

Day 2, Sunday 17th February

The Early Life of Jesus

We arrive at dawn where we will be met by our guide and then driven north to our hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, which will be our home for the next two nights. Following breakfast we will drive up to Nazareth, the town where Jesus grew up and visit the Church of the Annunciation built over the house of Mary where we will celebrate Mass. Continue to the Greek Orthodox church built over Mary’s Well and an old synagogue-church. From Nazareth we drive to the village of Cana, the site associated with Jesus’ first sign, where we will visit the church associated with the miracle and have an opportunity to renewing marriage vows, before finally breaking for lunch. We then return to our hotel to spend the afternoon relaxing on the shores of the lake. Dinner and overnight by the lake.

Day 3, Monday 18th February

The Galilean Ministry

Today we will focus on the principal sites of Jesus’ ministry around the home he made for himself by the Sea of Galilee. After remembering the call of the first disciples by the shores of the sea, we drive to the summit of the Mount of Beatitudes where we will celebrate Mass in the open air overlooking the sites where Jesus lived and worked. We then continue back to the shores of the lake and visit the excavated ruins of Capernaum and the House of Peter, Tabgha, the church associated with the feeding of the 5000 and the Church of the Primacy of Peter. After a break for lunch we will visit Kursi, the site associated with the Gaderene Swine, before boarding a boat and sailing on the Sea of Galilee in a larger modern replica of a first century fishing boat. We will visit the baptismal site at Yardenit where we will have an opportunity to renew our baptism vows, before returning to our hotel in time to freshen up for our evening meal.

Day 4, Tuesday 19th February

An ancient pilgrimage route

This morning we bid farewell to the Galilee, and begin our journey south. Leaving the lakeside we proceed across the plains of Jezreel (the biblical scene of Armageddon) to the summit of Mount Tabor, the site that commemorates the Transfiguration. After celebrating Mass on the mountain we continue to Mount Carmel for a breathtaking view of Haifa Bay. We then visit Mukhraqa and the Cave of Elijah, the site where he challenged the prophets of Baal. After a break for lunch we continue along the coast to the ancient Roman and Crusader city port of Caesarea Maritima. It was here that Paul was imprisoned for almost two years before his trial in Rome and where Peter baptized Cornelius, the Roman Centurion. We then leave the Mediterranean and drive inland up through the Jerusalem hills to the Holy City of Jerusalem. We will stop briefly on Mount Scopus for a breathtaking view of the city and its beautiful medieval walls before proceeding down to our hotel within the old walled city. After dinner there will be an opportunity of joining a walking tour of Jerusalem by night.

Day 5, Wednesday 20th February

The Birth of the Messiah

Today we will visit the places associated with the birth of Jesus, and get a sense of the lives of modern-day Christians in Bethlehem. After breakfast we drive towards Bethlehem until we come to the vast 9-metre high concrete wall surrounding Bethlehem. Passing through the checkpoint, we make our way to Manger Square and visit the Church of the Nativity, built over the cave, the oldest church in Christendom. We then proceed to the Shepherd’s Fields where we will celebrate Mass. Leaving Bethlehem we return to Jerusalem and the summit of the Mount of Olives from where we begin our walk down the hill, visiting The Church of Dominus Flevitt, which commemorates the place where Jesus wept having foreseen the destruction of the city, The Church of the Pater Noster and finally the Garden of Gethsemane and The Church of All Nations. We then cross the Kidron Valley and drive up Mount Zion to visit the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu, built at the top of an ancient set of steps which leads up from the City of David to what is believed to have been the residence of the High Priest. Many believe that Jesus himself was led up these steps to his trial by the authorities after his arrest. Here we recall not only Jesus’ incarceration over the last night of his life, but also Peter’s faithless threefold denial of Jesus. Returning to our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 6, Thursday 21st February

The Wilderness

This morning we leave Jerusalem after an early breakfast and drive down through the hills of the Judean wilderness to the shores of the Dead Sea stopping briefly in Wadi Kelt, an ancient route to Jericho to view St George’s Monastery which clings precariously to the cliff face of the mountain. We drive south to Qumran to view the site where the Dead Sea scrolls were unearthed and the visit the remains of an Essene monastery from where the scrolls may have originated and where we will celebrate Mass in the open air. We then have an opportunity of floating in the unique mineral-laden waters of the Dead Sea, before proceeding to Jericho for lunch and time for shopping. In the afternoon we begin our journey back to Jerusalem and our hotel. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 7, Friday 22nd February

Death and Resurrection

After breakfast we proceed to the beautiful Crusader Church of St. Anne overlooking the Pools of Bethesda and the Convent of the Sisters of Zion built on the foundations of the Antonia Fortress, the Roman Garrison of Jerusalem. After a celebration of the Eucharist we visit the recently-excavated first century stone pavement (Gabbatha in the gospels) and then begin to follow the Way of the Cross along the narrow streets of the Via Dolorosa to Calvary enshrined within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After a break for lunch we will visit the Model of First Century Jerusalem at the Israel Museum, before continuing to the village of Ein Karem, venerated as the birthplace of John the Baptist and the Church of the Visitation where we bring the day to a close. Return to Jerusalem and our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 8, Saturday 23rd February

Exploring Jerusalem

If permitted, we will start our day by visiting the Temple Mount, where we can see close up (but not enter) the glorious Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque and walk through the old city to Mount Zion, where the earliest Christian community lived in the days following the resurrection. Here we will find a site commemorating both the Upper Room used for the Last Supper as well as the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and a striking abbey in honour of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. After a break for lunch we will have free time to explore the Old city and visit sites of particular interest. Farewell dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 9, Sunday 24th February

Telling what had happened on the road

After breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and drive over to St George’s Cathedral, the Mother Church of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem and worship with some of the local Christian community. After service we drive west towards the airport and after seven miles we will stop at the village of Abu Ghosh, one of the sites associated with the village of Emmaus in the gospels, to view the church and a break for an early lunch. Finally we continue to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport to board our flight back to London and our journey to our own homes. We hope that each one of us will continue to tell our friends all that has happened to us on the road...

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