Today we ported at Kavala, Greece. We boarded our bus as a group and traveled to Philippi. Our first stop was at the Lion Monument. The funerary monument was from the 4th century and had a long history of being discovered and unearthed. First discovered in 1912 and then more parts found during WWI and years after. Final assembly was where it was discovered. After a group photo we went to the Archeological Museum of Amphipolis. Paul and Silas passed through this area on their way to Thessalonica.
Arriving in Philippi we had a great lunch at the welcome center and then toured the area. Philippi was a sprawling area. The Apostle Paul spent about three months in Philippi during his second missionary journey. Paul arrived in Philippi with Silas, Timothy, and Luke. It was humbling for me to sit in the forum and think this is where Paul and Silas were dragged into, stripped and flogged. Joe shared scripture with us here. We were able to view the jail where he was held after the flogging and imagined Paul and Silas singing hymns as they were chained to the floor. This jail was where Paul converted a jailer to Christianity after an earthquake. The octagon Church on the site was built on top of the foundation from a Church dedicated to Paul in the 4th Century.
Ending our day, we traveled to Lydia’s Church. This church was built beside the River Zygaktis where it’s believed that Paul and Silas met with the early believers and Lydia was baptized. There was a beautiful area set by the river where services and baptisms are held today. Tomorrow we travel to Thessaloniki.
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