Day 10: Journey to Philippi

Today, we continued on our journey following Paul's footsteps in the Book of Acts.  Our first stop was to see the port city of Neapolis (now Kavala)--the point where most believe that Paul first stepped into Macedonia.  At the point where the ancient port once stood, we visited a mosaic depicting Paul's vision to "come to Macedonia to help us."  After leaving Kavala, we continued on our journey along the Via Egnatio to Philippi.  Our next stop was at the place where Lydia was baptized.  She is believed to be the first women to be converted and baptized in Europe.  At this place, we were blessed to be able to celebrate Mass outside, right next to the baptistery along a flowing creek.  What a peaceful location to celebrate the Holy Eucharist - probably one of the most beautiful on our trip!  Next we visited the ancient ruins of Philippi, where in Book of Acts, Paul, joined by Timothy, Silas and Luke, cast out a demon from a young girl and Paul and Silas were jailed, followed by a strong earthquake that shook the shackles off of their ankles.  After converting and baptizing the jailer and his family, they were released from prison and thrown out of the city.  In this same set of ancient ruins we also saw pieces of the Via Egnatia still intact, a small part of the 470+ miles of marble roadway that once existed.  We also saw ruins of what is widely believed to be the remains of the first Christian church in Europe--the Octagon of Philippi.  Our last stop of the day was at our hotel in Alexandroupolis where we spent our final night in Greece and prepared to cross over into Turkey tomorrow.