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Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece, a busy port on the Aegean founded in 315 BC and still full of life today.
Paul came here on his second journey and preached in the synagogue for three Sabbaths, and a church was born before opposition drove him on to Berea (Acts 17). Among its sites pilgrims visit the Church of Saint Demetrius, the Rotunda, the old Roman forum, and the arch and tomb of Galerius.
The two letters Paul wrote back to this young church, First and Second Thessalonians, are the earliest of all his letters that we have.
Thessaloniki is where you meet the New Testament church at its very beginning. Paul had only days with these believers, yet what he wrote to them, about hope, about the return of the Lord, about living quietly and working with your hands, still shapes the faith today.
To walk the city is to stand where the gospel first took root in a major European capital, and to read the Thessalonian letters on the very ground that received them.
How long did Paul stay in Thessaloniki? He preached in the synagogue for three Sabbaths before opposition forced him to move on to Berea (Acts 17).
What can I see there today? The Church of Saint Demetrius, the Rotunda, the Roman forum, and the Arch of Galerius.
Is it part of a Greece pilgrimage? Yes. It sits on the northern route with Philippi and Berea.
Holy Sites
Tell us which sites you hope to see and we will shape a journey around them.
