During one of his missionary journeys St. Paul visited Ephesus in Turkey.
He stays in the city about three years (Acts 19:1-20). In Ephesus Paul discovers twelve believers who were baptized but who did'nt as yet have God's spirit. Paul baptizes them in His name and they receive God's Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7).
In looking at the letters to the 7 Churches, we see the Lord speaking directly to the 7 Churches
that existed in the Holy land at the time John lived. We also see the Lord's opinion of those Churches, and what they were doing at the time: Ephesus, Pergamon, Laodicea, Sardis, Thyatira, Smyrna, Philadelphia churches.
Turkey is called the Other Holy Land as it has more biblical sites than any other country in the Middle East. Antioch - the place where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians; Tarsus - where Apostle Paul was born and many others..
Below we have listed the places in Greece
which were mentioned in the New Testament or which are connected
with the Apostles or are held for sacred and religious places.
Agia Sophia Church - Thessaloniki The Agia Sophia is the largest and most famous Byzantine church
in Thessaloniki, Greece. The construction date of the Agia
Sophia is not determined, but the modern building is not the
first to stand on this site: excavations revealed remains of
both a Roman building and an Early Christian basilica near the
church. In 1585 the Agia Sophia was converted into a mosque by
the Turks. After a fire in 1890, it was reconstructed in 1907-10
and rededicated for Christians in 1912.
Agia Triada Monastery - Meteora Agia Triada (also Ayia Triada or Aghia Triada; "Holy Trinity")
is the most dramatically positioned monastery of the Meteora.
Hermit monks may have lived here at beginning of the 14th century, but
the present monastery was built between 1458 and 1476. The small church
( built in1476) has an exterior of brick and tile. It has two domes,
reflecting two building phases. Carved into the rock off the passageway
into the courtyard is a round Chapel of John the Baptist (1682), which
may occupy the site of an early hermitage. Holy Trinity owns over 120
religious manuscripts copied by its monks over the centuries.
Ancient Acrotiri - Santorini Ancient Akrotiri is an important archaeological site on the
Greek island of Santorini. The flourishing town was at once
destroyed and preserved around 1450 BC by a volcanic eruption.
Today it has been partially excavated and is protected from the
sun inside by a large shed. Areopagus (Mars Hill) - Athens The Areopagus or Mars Hill is a marble hill next to the
Acropolis in Athens. It is especially popular with travelers for
its connections with a speech made by Paul the Apostle about the
identity of "the Unknown God." According to the biblical account
(Acts 17): . A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began
to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler
trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating
foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the
good news about Jesus and the resurrection. ...Paul then stood
up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I
see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked
around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even
found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now
what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to
you."
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them
sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this
subject." At that, Paul left the Council. A few men became
followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a
member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a
number of others.
Byzantine Churches - Naxos Islands Naxos Island is home of remarkable Byzantine chapels. Many of
them contain extraordinary frescoes from the 9th to the 15th
centuries. In recent decades, many of the frescoes have been
carefully restored. Wherever possible, the newer layers of
frescoes have been removed intact to reveal the oldest frescoes
beneath. Most of those that were removed are now on display in
the Byzantine Museum in Athens.
Cave of the Apokalypse - Patmos About halfway up to the Monastery of St. John on Patmos is the
Cave of the Apocalypse. This sacred grotto is believed to mark
the spot where St. John received his visions from Christ that he
recorded in the Book of Revelation. "I, John, your brother and
companion in the suffering and kingdom
and patient endurance
that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of
the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord's Day I
was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a
trumpet..." (Revelation 1:9-10) .
Corinth Corinth (Greek Island) is an ancient city about 48 miles west of
Athens on the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnese
to the mainland of Greece. Corinth was an important city in
ancient Greece and it played a major role in the missionary work
of the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul visited Corinth in the 50s
AD and later wrote two letters to the Christian community at
Corinth (the books of 1 and 2 Corinthians in the New Testament).
Paul lived in Corinth for 18 months (Acts 18:1-18), working as a
tentmaker and converting as many Jews and pagans as he could.
Although Paul intended to pass through Corinth a second time
before he visited Macedonia, circumstances were such that he
first went from Troas to Macedonia before stopping at Corinth
for a "second benefit" (2 Corinthians 1:15). This time he stayed
in Corinth for three months (Acts 20:3). It was probably during
this second visit in the spring of 58 that Paul wrote the
Epistle to the Romans. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians,
written from Ephesus, reflects the difficulties of maintaining a
Christian community in such a cosmopolitan city..
Daphni Monastery The Daphni Monastery is an 11th-century Byzantine monastery
outside Athens. Founded on the site of a Greek temple, it is now
a museum and World Heritage Site. Daphni Monastery is one of the
great masterpieces of the Byzantine Empire, especially famed for
its beautiful interior mosaics. Sadly, the church has been
closed for restoration work since 1999 with no estimated date of
completion.
Erechtheion - Athens The Erecththeion is an ancient Greek temple on the north side of
the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The temple as seen today was
built between 421 BC and 407 BC, but it is believed to be a
replacement for an older temple, since it is on the site of some
of the most ancient and holy relics of the Athenians. Gortyna - Crete Gortyna (also known as Gortyn or Gortys) located in southern
central Crete was a major Roman city and later became the seat
of the first Christian bishop of Crete. St. Titus, a
fellow-worker with the Apostle Paul, preached the Christian
Gospel in Crete (Titus 1:5), and the Basilica of St. Titus (Agios
Titos) in Gortyna marks the traditional site of his martyrdom.
The Basilica of St. Titus represents the best remaining example
of an early Christian basilica in Greece. The 6th- and
7th-century basilica was destroyed by the Arabs in 824 and now
lies in ruins, but some of the apse and transept remain.
Knossos - Crete Knossos (alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Gnossus)
is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and was
probably the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan cultur.
ent or which are connected
with the Apostles or are held for sacred and religious places.
itioned monastery of the Meteora.
Hermit monks may have lived here at beginning of the 14th century, but
the present monastery was built between 1458 and 1476. The small church
( built in1476) has an exterior of brick and tile. It has two domes,
reflecting two building phases. Carved into the rock off the passageway
into the courtyard is a round Chapel of John the Baptist (1682), which
may occupy the site of an early hermitage. Holy Trinity owns over 120
religious manuscripts copied by its monks over the centuries.
and patient endurance
that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of
the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord's Day I
was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a
trumpet..." (Revelation 1:9-10) . 
site of a Greek temple, it is now
a museum and World Heritage Site. Daphni Monastery is one of the
great masterpieces of the Byzantine Empire, especially famed for
its beautiful interior mosaics. Sadly, the church has been
closed for restoration work since 1999 with no estimated date of
completion.