DISCOVERING PAUL

Following in the footsteps of St Paul brought us to Turkey. Christianity did not begin with Paul of Tarsus, but the movement got a huge jump start from his evangelizing journeys and the letters he wrote to various communities he had helped start.  Paul figures in more of the New Testament than almost Jesus, himself.  It was through Paul’s efforts the Way was expanded beyond the Jewish world, the original target for both John the Baptist and Jesus.  Paul allowed non-Jews – Gentiles – to join the party without fully following Jewish law – the crucible being circumcision.  By opening this door, the Way evolved into an entirely new religion – actually, a new family of religions – far different from the original stream Jesus or even Paul had drifted along.

Pilgrimage:  1 a journey to a sacred place or shrine; 2 a long journey or search, especially one of exalted purpose or moral significance.

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/pilgrimage

LETTERS OF PAUL

Many Christian scholars do not think Paul wrote all the letters ascribed to him in the New Testament.  Of the fourteen letters, seven – written in the 50’s – are thought to have a Pauline source; three others are disputed to being Pauline in origin; the last three are considered as inauthentic with no Pauline source.  That said, some scholars still say he wrote them all and whether he wrote them all or not has a large impact upon the overall message.

Progressive – liberal – Christian scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominick Crossan divide the letters of Paul into three groups:

            Radical/Authentic Paul:  Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Philemon and 1 Thessalonians

            Conservative/Pseudo Paul:  Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians

            Radical/Anti Paul:  1 and 2 Timothy, Titus

PAUL TODAY

PILGRIMAGE BEGINS

Borg and Crossan, and their wives, have led pilgrimage tours for over a decade now since retiring from active teaching.  Originally their trips went to Israel and Palestine but now they concentrate on Turkey to see sites to follow in the footsteps of St Paul, traveled some 2000 years ago.  They hope by journeying where Paul had gone, a modern-day pilgrim/tourist can gain a better insight into both Paul and the world context in which he worked.  One of the definitions of ‘pilgrimage’ is a visit to any site revered or associated with a meaningful event.  Fulfilling this meaning, I enrolled in their 2012 venture and became, by definition, a pilgrim. 

The group I joined consisted of some 38 other pilgrims.  A good third of the group were directly from the ranks of Christian clergy – Episcopal and Lutheran.  Most could be considered both liberal in political outlook and liberal/progressive in religious viewpoint, as well.

ANTALYA MUSEUM

Our trip to Turkey started in Antalya, a port from which the footsteps of St Paul left Turkey at the end of his first mission to Asia Minor, a trip he probably did under the tutelage of Barnabas of Cyprus.  We spent the first few days in Antalya as our home base.  Antalya is a rapidly growing city serving as a starting point for millions of sun/beach seeking tourists.  Most tourists do not see much of Antalya except the airport.

Our first visit was the Antalya Museum, one of the finer regional museums in Turkey outside of Istanbul or Ankara.  Many of the statues displayed came from the nearby ancient city of Perge.  In addition to the statues, there are magnificent sarcophagi, Christian icons, coins, and a multitude of other treasures from the surrounding ancient provinces of Lycia and Pamphylia.

ANCIENT SEAPORTS

The next day, having seen the statues, it was time to see the site of Perge, a town St Paul and his footsteps passed through at the beginning and end of his first trip to Turkey.  He spent time here with Barnabas preparing to push northward into Pisidia and Galatia over the high Taurus Mountains.  Trotting through the ruins of Perge – the stadium, the baths, the agora, and the colonnaded canal street – is to catch glimpses of life in the 1^st and 2^nd Centuries.  Perge is not far from the Antalya airport so the ruins contrast incongruously with 747 jumbo jets roaring high above.

After Perge, a quick side trip to see the restored bridge, the aqueduct and the magnificent theater at nearby Aspendos.

INTO THE MOUNTAINS

The following day, we followed the footsteps of St Paul to the north – approximately.  Paul and Barnabas had walked north on the Roman Via Sebaste while our bus drove north on Turkish National 650, the main highway connecting Antalya with Istanbul and Ankara.  The magnificent Bey Dağları rising high above the sea to the west of Antalya, a grand sight, are soon put in our rear view mirror as we climb up into the Taurus gaining our first pass of the day at Çubak Coeçdi – 925 meters. 

Descending and traversing a basin valley, we accomplished in an hour what it must have taken Paul the better part of a week to cover.  Just past the town of Buçak, we turned off the main highway onto a smaller local one which quickly twisted and turned its way upward to another pass.  Slowly winding our way down on the other side, we could make out our day’s destination, the anastylosized (reconstructed with original material as much as possible) ruins of the ancient city of Sagalassos, one of the main cities of the old Roman province of Pisidia.

ANASTYLOSIS

Sagalassos had seen settlement for thousands of years until earthquakes and unsettled times during the long decay of the Byzantine Empire brought life here to an end.  People ended up moving away or down to the present small town of Ağlasun which we proceeded to drive through, winding up ever steeper slopes.    St Paul is not recorded to have ever visited Sagalassos – the Via Sebaste nor his footsteps did not come up here. 

We stopped here because the excavations have uncovered and restored much of the glories of the ancient city. Restoration is so dramatic, Sagalassos is another one of Turkey’s many World Heritage sites with ongoing work promising to show more as time goes on.  The ruins are gleaming white, a sign they have only recently been uncovered with little indications of weathered grey.  Off the beaten path, few tourists get up here.  The ruins, the magnificent physical site, the history, and the silence all combine to mold an unforgettable image.

MOUNTAIN LAKES

 And then, too soon, we were driving back down from on high, circling around more mountains on our way to our next base for the next two nights, Eğirdir.

LAKES AND MISSIONS

From Eğirdir it is about a 70km drive to the site of the next footsteps of St Paul. First driving around the south and east edges of the lake and then northeast to the town of Yalvaç, the modern-day successor to Pisidian Antioch.  Here, we were still far off the tourist highway. 

The crumbling ruins were ours to wander through as thunderclouds slowly began to form to the north.  Pisidian Antioch was a Roman colonial successor town built atop more ancient ruins.  Rebuilt as a home for retired legionnaires and the short term base of the 6^th Legion.  The town and the road leading through it – the Via Sebaste – were all instruments of Romanizing the, until then, independent tendencies of the locals.  Finished in 6 BC, the road and the legion’s work was accomplished between then and 4 CE.  So complete was the task that the 6^th Legion was removed from Pisidian Antioch and never returned.

PSIDIAN ANTIOCH

tHE HISTORY

Evidence of the historical evidence of Sergius Paulus exists in the form of an inscription with a name possibly his son carved out which you can find in the Yalvaç Museum.  Also, Paul could also have changed his name from Saul in honor of their high standing benefactor. At Pisidian Antioch, Paul’s first missionary messages are recorded – Acts 13:14-49.  Speaking to the theosebeis (god fearers or god worshippers, Gentiles who had been attracted to the morality and theology of Judaism but not willing to take the final step of circumcision), St Paul and Barnabas were able to get their message out enough before their footsteps heading on to the next town along the Via Sebaste, Iconium – Konya, today. 

They returned through Pisidian Antioch on their way back at the end of their trip.  Paul later passed through Pisidian Antioch on his next two missionary sojourns, each time working to galvanize those he had converted.  His letter to Galatians is probably partly directed to those he had connected with in Pisidian Antioch as well.

THE RUINS

The ruins at Pisidian Antioch take some imagination to gain a mental image of what once was.  The anastylosis – painstaking partial restoration of ruins – found at many other sites has not gone on here.  The former diaspora synagogue where Paul preached has not been found, probably built over as the foundation of a latter church. 

The high point of the city is the Temple of Augustus. Augustus was the latest in a series of earlier gods and goddesses revered here. The temple here has been somewhat restored.  Built on an east-west axis, common with ancient Greek and Roman temples with the altar facing Rome, home of the living gods.  Signs of Paul’s success here at Pisidian Antioch are remembered with the ruins of a large 4^th Century basilica thought to be dedicated in Paul’s honor.  It was one of the largest churches in the world at the time.

VISITING THE ANCIENT WORLDS OF HEALING AND DYING – Hierapolis

Lightning began to flash over the Sultan Dağları coming towards us as we returned to the bus and made our way back to Eğirdir.  That afternoon, storms lashed the lake with wind and rains somehow appropriately for a biblical pilgrimage.

The necropolis scene segued into Paul’s ideas offered up to the Thessalonian community in 1 Thessalonians 4:  13-18: those of the community dying before Christ’s return to the earth would rise up first. With Christ, they would meet those left alive and rise altogether at the same time into heaven.  Similarly, here, coming into Hierapolis, we meet the dead before the living.

NOT ALWAYS HEALING

Hierapolis was a major center for people to come to to take the mineral waters which were thought to restore health. A lot of sick people is a good reason for the extensive necropolis.

MEN MADE INTO GODS

The following day we passed through the bustling city of Denizli, climbing behind the massive Akdağ – with towering Baba Dağı, 2308 meters crowning the range – to a date with the ruins of Afrodisias.  We visited Afrodisias not for direct Pauline connections – there are no direct links we know of – but because here can be directly witnessed firsthand is the Roman theological system monumentalized.  The magnificent restored base-reliefs used to adorn the three-storied Sebasteion of the city show the story of gods and man.  Heroes interact with the gods for the benefit of mankind. They thereby attain mythical status for themselves.  Similarly, the Roman imperial family achieves world peace through their superhuman actions, becoming gods themselves in the process.

Onward we travel

To part Two of the pilgrimage.