Finally God Moments (May 24-25)

As we crossed the border from Turkey into Greece we also crossed from an officially secular state where Christianity is under active persecution and limited to a small remnant of Greek Orthodox churches in Istanbul and Izmir plus an unknown number of house churches; to an officially Christian state where the danger is creeping secularism. It feels different. I found the daily calls to prayer oppressive. Often, by co-incidence I would be up early and spreading my own prayer mat – a large bath towel on a marble floor to do my 20 sit-ups and push-ups. We all have our rituals.

Greece feels different. As we had dinner on the top floor of our hotel in Kavala (where the Apostle Paul first landed in Europe) I noticed a small cross on top of the nearby mountain. It was later lit up and visible in the dark. In exploring the small (60,000) town of Kavala I went around and found the entrance to a small Orthodox church near our hotel. It was open at 6.30 pm on a Friday. There were real people praying and lighting candles inside. What a change from two weeks of being in churches that had been desecrated and turned into mosques and museums! I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. It was a beautifully decorated church with the same type of fresco's and mosaics that had been covered up or stolen from St. Sophia in Istanbul. Instead of empty frames where Christian and Muslim iconoclasts had removed or soldiers had stolen icons – there they were. There was a warm glow in the place and like the early evangelists I went out and shared the good news with my fellow travelers.

Back to Europe

It was exciting to see Troy and the difference between amateur and professional Archeology. A German businessman with no training in History or Archeology was obsessed with finding the ancient treasures of Troy, hired local men to dig huge trenches with complete disregard for what was dug up and where it was from. He found the treasures, lied to his workers that he had just found a few pots and left with jewelry and precious artifacts. Professional Archaeologists who followed – and have done a great job of identifying 9 layers of civilization up to the Roman Period, were so upset they actually left one trench, “Schliemann’s Trench”, as a witness to the earlier destruction. Our guide Mel explained how you can tell levels apart by the types of wall – huge square blocks as opposed to less well cut stones, rounded boulders etc. We could also see where the sea had come into bays on two sides of the huge city – several of our city blocks in size. Troy, like Istanbul, would have controlled trade along this strategic coast. Near the parking lot a replica Trojan Horse has been built to show people how high the city gate would have been – and as a photo op.

Next we drove North on the coast, took a ferry across to the European side and drove into the chaos of Istanbul. This city of 15 million is overwhelming in its busyness and impossible traffic. The next day our bus was stuck in traffic for over an hour and late in picking us up at the end of the day. It is exciting to realize that Turkey has both a European and Asian side. This huge and fertile land is the bridge between Eastern and Western Culture. That is a blessing in that the history and culture is so rich – and a curse because Turkey is in the middle between what was Christendom and what is becoming a more fundamentalist Islamic empire. We had an interesting example of this at the Blue Mosque yesterday. Apparently a new dress code has been introduced in the past two months. Women have to cover their hair and everyone has to cover their bare arms, neck and legs. Our guide refused to do this and was confronted by a security guard. She eventually complied but was very upset about this. Turkey’s Constitution defines the state as secular and respectful of all religions. The current government is pushing a more aggressively Islamic agenda by gradually converting churches and mosques that have become museums into active mosques and imposing dress regulations.

On our last day in Istanbul we visited the Chorea Church – our first real visit to a ‘real’ Christian church. They were under a foreign government and allowed to continue as a church when the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1455. By this time the Crusaders had already looted most of the icons and ornaments from churches – including Haigia Sophia. There are frames but no icons – a result of both Christian and Muslim iconoclast ism. In Chiora Church the wall and ceiling friezes were painted over with plaster which actually preserved the beautiful mosaics and paintings underneath. These have been restored in one of the best collections of early Christian art in the world. Chiora means outside the walls in Turkish but it could also mean out of here, meaning Christianity will eventually spread from here.

On the way to the Archaeological Museum we passed the home of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch and one of their churches. These are a magnet for Greek tourists who come to show support. Following the First World War Greeks, including clergy, were forced to return to Greece in a shameful example of ethnic cleansing. Over the past 17 days our tour group has fallen in love with Turkey and the Turkish people. Turkey is geographically similar to Canada – only smaller and warmer. We feel the pain of these kind people as they struggle to thrive in this politically and religiously charged environment. They need our prayers every day. Please pray for Turkey.

Pentecost in Turkey

Our day began with a talk on the bus by Prof. Nienkirchen on the development of Pentacostalism in America in 1901 in Topicana, Kansas . It was a fitting start to a visit to two days of visits to churches both commended for (Philadelphia) and warned about (Sardis) their spiritual ferver. Philadelphia was commended for its love by John (Revelation 3.7-13). This was one of three churches founded by Epaphras in the Lycus Rive Valley while Paul was in Ephysus. Yesterday we had stood among the ruins of Laodocia from which we could see a triangle of Colosse and Hireapolis each about ten km away.

There was a warm feeling still in Pamphelia. There as not much to see as the modern town has been built over the ancient tow. This was a blessing in a way as we had been to so many tourist mega-sites with crowds of tourists – and no real peace. While there was no modern Christian presence, it was comforting to see the remains of the huge basilica still towering over the mosque across the street.

Churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis and Colosse (Turkey)

Yesterday after the post on Patmos we hiked up to Hermitage of the Prophet Elias on the highest point of Patmos. We were already tired from our hike to the beach and the reading of the entire Book of Revelation so it was a struggle to walk up the paved but steep path. The wind got stronger and stronger as the path got steeper and steeper. Could this not be a metaphor for our spiritual life as we have to work hard and exert ourselves to develop spiritual self-discipline and wisdom?

At the top there is a hermitage but the door was locked and we had not been able to get a key. The hermitage is controlled by the Abbot of the Monastery, who recently retired creating a vacuum in decision making. Finally we reached the top and were rewarded with a stunning panoramic view of the entire island – and a personal reflection by our leader Prof. Charles Neinkirken on the Book of Revelation. Revelation is dismissed by many Christians as an unintelligible vision of the End Time. The truth is that it is neither unintelligible nor only about a future event. Reversed Thunder, one of the books recommended for this Course contends that Revelation is nothing less than a brilliant summation of the whole Bible. Prof. Neinkirken noted that modern Christianity in many places has become a pale reflection of what it used to be. Instead of standing firm and proclaiming repentance and the good news of forgiveness the modern church avoids conflict with the culture. We have now gone so far as to bless same-sex marriages which have been historically outside the boundaries of acceptable moral behavior in all places and religions. The seven churches we are visiting in Turkey died from within long before they were overrun by Islam and the Ottoman Empire.

Our journey continued this morning (May 19) with a four-hour boat ride back to Kausadasi. As I write we are back on our old bus driving across the huge Meander Valley toward the site of ancient of three churches in the Lycos Valley (near modern) Denizli – Hierapolis, Laodicea and Colosse. The Meander Valley – from which we get the English word, meanders back and forth all along the coast, silting up ancient harbors which with the gradual sinking of the Aegean Sea are now far back from the present coastline. The soil is incredibly fertile so everything grows here. This fertility and massive agriculture everywhere in Turkey was completely unexpected to me.

In Revelation 3.14-22 the church in Laodicea is warned about being neither hot nor cold. The Risen Jesus warns them he will spit them out if they do not repent their loss of faith and recover their spiritual fervor. Like many churches today they had begun to take their faith for granted, reduce religion to a form and not really love Jesus with their hearts. This spiritual decay and severe earthquakes had reduced their great city of over 100,000 people to rubble. Laodicea was at a junction of major trading routes so grew rich from lending to desperate travelers at hugerates of interest. Their prosperity led to their spiritual demise. This should be a warning to us all.

Over the valley about 10 km away we could see the triangle of sites of ancient Colosse (i.e. Letter to the Colossians) and Hierapolis. We did not visit Colosse as the site has not been excavated. Hierapolis was a different story. The Turkish Government has a full-time year round excavation going on. I was amazed at how large these cities were – we walked for over a km. in 30 degree heat just to get to the middle of the site. There were the usual temples, market and theatres. But Hierapolis was a proud place – they famously declined to accept a gift of money from the Roman Emperor to rebuild after an earthquake. This was clearly not a community listening to the Holy Spirit and aware of their need for salvation – and they too passed.

Today’s take away must be the difficulty of keeping our eyes and hearts focused on Jesus when things are going well. That such massive stone cities could simply crumble into the ground reminds us that we are all temporaries.

Father John on Patmos

Before St. John (the Theologian) died near Ephesus, he had been exiled to the island of Patmos in 95-97 by the Roman Government as part of the persecution of Christians. So it was that our little band of 23 Pilgrims boarded a chartered boat in Kasadasi for the four hour sea voyage to Patmos. Patmos, like most of the hundreds of tiny islands within sight of the Turkish coast belongs to Greece. Greece covers most of the Aegean Sea which is a source of long contention between the two countries. We are now in the Euro Zone – and also in the Christian Zone. There is something about not being wakened at 4.20 am by loudspeakers blasting men with high voices singing an unintelligible call to prayer to what some people would call a demon god. By the way I have figured out why Moslems have more children – what would any married man do after being wakened at 4.20 am and getting up to pray?

The Turkish people by the way are wonderfully kind and easier to work with than many Canadians. This is being discovered and tourists are flocking in – so get on it while it is still relatively inexpensive.

Antioch and the Birth of the Gentile Church – May 11

It was a long hard journey for Paul to get to Pisidian Antioch and preach in the synagogue beneath the ruins of the church where I am standing (the other Antioch is in Syria) so we did not really mind the 7 hour bus ride diagonally across Turkey from Cappadocia. As we arrived the sunny weather became a downpour. We took this as a reminder of the hardships Paul also faced in spreading the Gospel. As I write this our bus is descending through the incredibly steep mountain pass Paul must have walked up from the coast.

In addition to the physical hardships, we could see in the relative layout of the ancient city that the power and authority of Rome towered over the main public market and was directly facing the synagogue below. Paul walked into a situation where both Rome and the Synagogue already claimed divine authority. His message, delivered in the synagogue below the church where I am standing, was nothing less than that both were wrong. He was proclaiming a new religious authority, graciously suggesting God would pardon past ignorance but not forever. When the Jewish authorities opposed the message he turned to the gentiles and the Christian Church was born.

The takeaway for me was an enhanced realization of how hard it is to proclaim a different understanding of God. In spite of Pauls’ oratorical skills, theological knowledge and the evidence of miraculous healings and the gifts of the Holy Spirit; they refused to believe the good news of God’s love in Jesus. Perhaps people are more lazy than inquisitive. We get angry when our pet ideas are challenged and there is a possibility we are wrong. It is as if we prefer being wrong to the mental and political struggle of finding the truth. Our religion is our established comfort zone and we do not like the discomfort of exploring change. Both Rome and the Jewish leadership were using the claim of divine authority to support their political and economic position. Both had a lot to lose if Paul was right. Both ended up opposing Paul, the truth and God – to their detriment.

This goes on in our own time. We are in the middle of a ferocious battle for the authority and reliability of the Bible. Academics including NT Wright, Ben Witherington, Richard Bauckham and Craig Evans are defending the authority of the Bible against popular and academic Biblical de-constructors including Elaine Pagels, Bart Ehrtman and Dominic Crossan. This is literally a life and death struggle for the church and all serious Christians - we can not loose this battle. We had quite a discussion of this on the bus with students asking how theological conservatives can be so narrow and theological liberals so empty. I blew my cover as an Anglican priest and shared my observation that theological liberals do not believe in the miracles of Jesus and spiritual evil – which gives them a completely unrealistic worldview. We appreciated Paul's struggles much more deeply!

Father John in Cappadocia May 10

 Our day began with a wakeup call at 4.15 am so again this may not be too coherent. Most of our study tour group were going ballooning which is a huge tourist thing here because the landscape is so unique. Over 100 ft. of volcanic ash was deposited and over time formed a special kind of rock called ‘tufa’. It is very soft and erodes much like the badlands of Drumheller Alberta. Where harder layers are on top this erosion creates strange mushroom shaped rock formations - which can be dug out to create underground cities as in picture .

It was dark when we got to the launch site but as it got lighter we could - see the outlines of over 50 huge balloons, each carrying up to 30 passengers were springing up from the ground as hot air roared into them. Riding in a balloon is magical in that the only sound is the roar of the burners. You just drift along, often low enough to touch the treetops. It was windy so we stayed below 500 meters. Our assignment was to ponder the question of ‘what kind of spirituality would emerge in a place like this? Our Professor, Dr. Charles Neinkirken had briefed us about St. Basel who went to Egypt in the Fourth Century to study and experience the desert spirituality of the “Desert Fathers” like the hermit Anthony. When Basil came back to his home in Cappadocia he rejected the solitude approach as an attempt to escape from Christ’s commandment to love one another. His famous words were “When I am alone whose feet can I wash?”

Instead he worked out a monastic rule based on community which is still in use in the Eastern Church. Basil, his sister Marika and brother Gregory devoted their lives to rescuing the Church from destructive and heretical disputes over the nature of Christ.

The rest of the morning was spent exploring a seven story underground city carved in the tufa rock where 3,000 people could hide from the various invaders from the Hitites 25 Centuries before Christ to the Moslems in the 7th. Century. The point being that in the world there is persecution and people have to adjust or perish. In the afternoon we visited a whole valley of carved chapels and homes carved into the rock by monastic communities. These lasted until the post-war settlement of 1923 whereby modern Turkey was created – along with forced population movements that meant the Greek monks had to leave.

The spiritual takeaway? Life is dangerous so we need to think globally, work in community and adapt locally. Perhaps this is why 23 people from Calgary are exhausting themselves with long flights and long days trying to understand how Christianity was saved and enriched by the Caoppoadician Fathers in the late Fourth Century.