The Violet Crown and the Eternal City

Both Greece and Rome were awesome, and it was great to walk through such Historically rich locations that are tied so closely together in the development of Western Culture. I have seen the heart of it -- the birthplace of the Western worldview. In addition to being the heart of Western culture, they were also significant places for Christianity and the early church. As always, I learned so much while we were there, through our studies and through the places themselves. It was a lovely conclusion to the traveling portion of our school.

Our time in Greece, just outside of Athens, was brief, but lovely. It definitely had a few twists; lost 20 Euros to a stern Greek woman, got lost in Athens, our one friend walked for four hours to get back from Athens to our hotel, our other friend's phone was run over by three cars, and another friend was almost hit by one. Honestly though, they made for good stories and good laughs. The enchantment of delicious ice cream, wonderful friends, and night swims, lit by the city, made it all perfect.

The actual remnants of Corinth are much smaller than many other cities, but it is very old, and very interesting. The museum had a fair amount to say for itself. The remaining few columns of the Temple of Apollo stand firm, refusing to relent to the passing of time and to allow their age to be forgotten. I could imagine the city back in the days, under Roman rule, in which the apostle Paul addressed in his letters to the church there. I could see the marketplace surrounding the temple -- the wealthy part of the town; its street paved with marble, its shops clean and decorated, full of the finest items, traded in and out of the port nearby. We stood on the foundations of the Court of Justice, where Gallio, the proconsul, once looked upon a group of angry Jews dragging Paul before him, demanding judgement. Gallio's indifference saved the Christian church as we know it.

Rome is absolutely incredible! My goodness, so beautiful. We went, as a school, to the Colosseum. The size of it and the former surface of it would have made it nothing less than daunting. So powerful and beautiful, it was a symbol of entertainment for the masses and of fear and death for many, including Christians.

Walking around, there is still so much left of the terrifying glory of Rome -- and yet, this is only a fragment of what once was. It would have seemed indestructible -- filled with an absurd amount of wealth and power, reflected in each overstated building of marble. The elaborate beauty would have been -- and still is, to a degree -- overwhelming.

What is so unique about Rome is its universal antiquity. Most historic cities have a small portion that is truly historical, and it is surrounded by modern urban-ism. The more I explored Rome, however, the more I saw the beauty of the entirety of it; the old beauty that is preserved and even recreated. I am in love with it.

After the Colosseum, I went with a group to walk around, and it started pouring down raining. We were completely soaked, trying not to slip on the cobblestone street. I honestly loved it and laughed through most of it. It felt like something straight out of old Hollywood. We pushed through and got Gelato at Gelateria Della Palma, where one can pick from a selection of 150 flavors. After that, we saw the Trevi fountain, which had such a pristine but organic design to it -- stunning.

My day off could not have been better. I started out in the morning with a couple of the guys and we went to the Priscilla Catacombs, which was honestly one of my favorite historic experiences that Iv'e had on this school.Walking underground, the air cooled down and we were in the dark, surrounded by graves in the walls. There were old tablets of marble to seal the tombs of the rich and ones of terracotta for the poor. On some were some of the oldest examples of the ICHTHYS (The Jesus Fish). Throughout the darkness of the tombs, there were burial "chapels," designed for wealthy families, which were rooms of a sort of stucco, painted with beautiful and symbolic images of vibrant colors. I could imagine them lit by the warm glow of flickering candlelight. Among these paintings was the oldest image of Mary and infant Jesus. They sit under a tree, with a prophet of the Old Testament pointing up to the star of Bethlehem. In another place was the famous image of Christ, the Good Shepherd. The catacombs went on for 13 kilometers and had three different levels. Christians who once used them had to have guides to visit their dead. The whole thing was seriously so fascinating.

After this, we went to the third oldest coffee shop in the world, Cafe Greco, which was extremely fancy and overpriced, but I loved it. It was a good place to sit down and read Hebrews.

The Vatican was overwhelming, artistically. So quickly, we walked through peoples' entire life's work -- through representations of years and

years of humanity's progression and their relationship with God. The Sistine Chapel is one thing to look at in pictures, but to be engulfed by it, surrounded completely by Michelangelo's paintings; the story of the gospel - of God's quest to bring mankind into unity with himself. This was all from the creation, to the ages of the kings and prophets of old, to the battles of the heavenly realms -- leading to God's victory and his reign. It was so beautiful and masterfully done. It is crazy to think that it was all the work of one man -- a passionate artist.

The basilica of St. Peter was also stunning -- in a magnificent way. In it was Michelangelo's iconic statue, Pieta, the image of Mary with the body of Jesus. It was something that I wasn't sure that I would ever see in person. Really beautiful and moving, I think. The entire church was dim and majestic, with cool colors of stone. But then at the end of the building, past the elaborate dome, was the only source of warm light. it was a bright, golden stained glass window, with but a simple dove on it, representing the holy spirit. From it was a golden sculpture of rays of light and cherubim, all spilling over the structure around it, as though the glory of God were flooding into the church, representing the world.

Of course, throughout all of my time in Rome, I ate a lot of gelato and had a lot of good chats. It is ridiculous how much I love all of these people that I'm with. I am so blessed to be a part of each one's story.

The Lord has shown me so much, and this week we studied Romans, which is, along with John, my favorite book of the New Testament, so I was really excited. Our speaker was phenomenal and so engaging. I learned so much and love the book even more now. The whole concept of the gospel itself has had to be revisited in my mind. Of course, salvation through Christ on the cross is a part of it, but there is actually so much more. The entirety of the Bible points to it and makes sense when you see the broader picture of things. I think I may have to write about it on its own. For now, I will simply say that my mind was blown.

I also just had a new understanding of the Historical background to the book and of the actual origins of a lot of "Christian" terms that really would have had a whole different layer of meaning for the original readers. For instance, the term "Son of God" is actually translated from Divi Filius, a title that Caesar Augustus assigned to himself and was used by those after him. As well, when Jesus is refereed to as the High Priest, it would have resonated with both Jews and Greeks. For Jews, obviously, it would relate to the High Priests of Israel, rooted back to their origins in the Old Testament. For the Greeks, however, the term, Pontifex Maximus would have been associated with the Caesar, as this, also, was one of his titles. He was considered the high priest of every religion that existed within the Roman Empire. Even the very word "gospel" means "Good news from the King" and would be used at the beginning of an announcement or decree. So many of the descriptors for Jesus as the Messiah were extremely political, as well as religious. I just found it so interesting.

I am now back in Lausanne, Switzerland, and have two more weeks of this school, which I plan to make the very most of. I will write, soon, about the next steps that I'll be taking on my adventure!

Thank you for reading!

#rome #greece #travel #bible #spiritual #living