Day 3: Alexander, Paul, and Lydia walk into…Philippi  

We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us.

—Acts 16:11-15

On today’s installment of The Ancient and The Ruins, we visit sign significant landmarks of of Thessaloniki: the White Tower, the Walls of the Byzantine Acropolis, the Roman Arch of Galerius, the Rotonda, the Church of St. Demetrius, patron saint of Thessaloniki. Statues of Alexander the Great adorn this city that, like the rest of this country, sits at the crossroads of modern and ancient, Byzantine and Roman, the East and the West. This city bears witness to the conquest of the Ottoman Empire and its fall as our tour guide, Anna, pointed out. 

We made our way to Kavala for lunch and then headed out to Philippi, where Paul first preached the good news of Jesus Christ, along with Silas and others. Here we saw the ruins of the once bustling trade city, the great octagon repurposed as the first church dedicated to the apostle Paul, the Agora, the theater, the Acropolis, and the prison cell which once held Paul and Silas captive. 

Before leaving the site we had Eucharist under shade trees right next to Paul and Silas’ cell, our gospel reading taken from Matthew 25:31-46, and the lesson taken from Philippians 2:5-11.

The Acts of the Apostles describes some of Paul’s time in Philippi, recounting the story of Paul sharing the Good News with a successful textile merchant, Lydia. Paul baptized Lydia and her whole household and she started on of the first house churches, one of the first Christian communities and served as a pastoral presence in the community once Paul departed—an exemplar of the early work of bishops. 

Finally, we visited the Baptistry of St. Lydia. A place not far from the Philippian Agora, beside a river of flowing, delightfully cold water. Here, in this place, our small group shed socks, shoes, and sandals, dipping our feet into this cold and rushing water and renewed our own baptismal covenant, under the kindly gaze of an icon of Lydia, early adopter of our shared faith, trusted colleague of Paul and Silas, gatherer of the faithful. 

Day 3 is done and the hour for sleeping has arrived once more. 

Day 4, Saturday: Depart from Thessaloniki and head to Berea and the monasteries at Meteora. 

St. Lydia, prayer for us.

faithfully,

ryan