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When Christianity Reached Europe: Following the Footsteps of St. Paul in Ancient Greece with Smaro Touloupa

When Christianity Reached Europe: Following the Footsteps of St. Paul in Ancient Greece with Smaro Touloupa


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Can't make this time? A video recording will be sent to all participants after the seminar.

The second missionary journey of St. Paul was a pivotal moment in the spread of a new religion known today as Christianity through Europe. In this seminar, we will trace the origins of this fascinating journey as we head to Ancient Greece with a local expert.

Saul was a well-educated Jew from Tarsus in Asia Minor who had a revelation while persecuting the disciples of Jesus that led to a conversion in both his name and life mission. With his new name, Paul would preach tirelessly a new religion called Christianity. During his second missionary journey, Christianity would reach Europe through his three-year travels to various locations in ancient Greece. The rest is history.

Using the ‘Acts of the Apostles’, we will trace the footsteps of Paul the Apostle and travel together from the ancient port of Neapolis, to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Philippi where Paul was thrown into prison. We will follow his route along via Egnatia, the former Roman highway that brought him to Thessaloniki and to Beroea, the land of bygone legendary Macedonian kings. We will speculate on how he reached Athens, where we discuss his preaching to intellectuals at Mars Hill and talking about the Unknown God. We’ll finish up with an exploration of biblical and cosmopolitan Corinth, where Paul spent one and a half years preaching and working as a tentmaker before setting out to Ephesus, and finally, Jerusalem.

Led by a local expert, Smaro Touloupa, this seminar will explore the journey that Paul the Apostle made when he traveled Roman Greece. Designed to inform curiosity, participants will come away with a deeper understanding of the challenging multicultural environment of the Roman Empire in which St. Paul fulfilled a pivotal mission.

Smaro Touloupa was born in Piraeus and lives in downtown Athens. She majored in sociology, eventually found her calling in her studies to become a national qualified guide, and later went to London to complete her MA in Cultural Heritage Management. Since 1998 she has led educational and alumni tours for Stanford, Harvard, and Yale, Swan Hellenic, Abercrombie & Kent, the British Museum, the National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions, the American Institute of Archaeology, the Biblical Archaeology Society, the Smithsonian, and various specialized and academic groups, and has led private tours for Context Travel since 2013. She has published articles in British and Greek scientific journals and books on heritage interpretation and the impact of crisis and tourism on heritage. For the last five years she has also been involved in local and international programs training qualified guides in interpretation skills. She is fascinated by human creation and adaptation in time and space and the power of cultural identity, and as a result enjoys a lot travelling, trekking, reading, and meeting people – and fish (while scuba diving)!

Not suitable for children under age 13 (sensitive content).

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.

Customer Reviews

Based on 5 reviews
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(5)
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N
Nancy (Kinwood, US)
Greece and St Paul

It was a very good presentation with loads of information given.

S
Steve (Los Gatos, US)
Excellent Presentation

What an amazing seminar. She knows her material really well. The PowerPoint slides were fantastic. They incorporated maps and photos in a way that really enhanced the experience. She was clear in her explanations, enthusiastic about the subject, and I learned a lot. If the subject is something you might be interested in don't miss this seminar. It's one of my favorites.

L
Lucy H (Hatfield, GB)
Excellent lecture

Absolutely fascinating and very well presented.
I will be looking for opportunities to join more seminars with this speaker.

O
Oliva Espin (San Diego, US)
No title

Very informative and impressive presentation. I learned a lot and was able to have a much better sense of places I have visited. I wish she would have been my guide.
However, there is a bit of conflict with New Testament scholarship. The attribution of authorship to documents (Like "St Luke wrote this") is not what Biblical scholars would accept now. This is minor in terms of the overall information presented in this excellent conversation, but it is important. And in no way deters from the value of these documents or of the message contained in them. Simply a more accurate and scholarly understanding of authorship.

D
Dimitra Pilarinou (Athens, GR)
Wonderful talk!

Smaro is a very knowledgeable speaker & every time she manages to give fascinating lectures with style! She took us to a journey all around Greece, combining superbly archaeology, history & traditions. Brilliant job, congrats Smaro!!!

Customer Reviews

Based on 5 reviews
100%
(5)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
N
Nancy (Kinwood, US)
Greece and St Paul

It was a very good presentation with loads of information given.

S
Steve (Los Gatos, US)
Excellent Presentation

What an amazing seminar. She knows her material really well. The PowerPoint slides were fantastic. They incorporated maps and photos in a way that really enhanced the experience. She was clear in her explanations, enthusiastic about the subject, and I learned a lot. If the subject is something you might be interested in don't miss this seminar. It's one of my favorites.

L
Lucy H (Hatfield, GB)
Excellent lecture

Absolutely fascinating and very well presented.
I will be looking for opportunities to join more seminars with this speaker.

O
Oliva Espin (San Diego, US)
No title

Very informative and impressive presentation. I learned a lot and was able to have a much better sense of places I have visited. I wish she would have been my guide.
However, there is a bit of conflict with New Testament scholarship. The attribution of authorship to documents (Like "St Luke wrote this") is not what Biblical scholars would accept now. This is minor in terms of the overall information presented in this excellent conversation, but it is important. And in no way deters from the value of these documents or of the message contained in them. Simply a more accurate and scholarly understanding of authorship.

D
Dimitra Pilarinou (Athens, GR)
Wonderful talk!

Smaro is a very knowledgeable speaker & every time she manages to give fascinating lectures with style! She took us to a journey all around Greece, combining superbly archaeology, history & traditions. Brilliant job, congrats Smaro!!!