Wrapping My Head Around What I'm Seeing

         On Thursday we spent the day in the ancient town of Ephesus. There in Ephesus, not only were there hundreds of other people looking at the same things we were, but there were also many reconstructions and excavations revealing a lot about what the town looked like in ancient times. We saw the Curates street, both the state and commercial agoras, a combined bouleuterion and odeion, the terrace houses, the Celsus Library, the Great Theater, St. Paul’s Grotto, and the Domitian Temple. One extraordinary thing was the Domitian Temple and what was underneath it. Like the Trajan Temple in Pergamum that we saw recently, where arches were holding the platform for which it was standing, the Domitian Temple, which pre-dates the Trajan Temple, also uses arches to support a platform of the temple. The construction feat in Pergamum might be more impressive, but the Domitian Temple had some surprises for us.

Cenkis, a retired archaeologist who worked on the Ephesus site for 40 years, points behind to the base of the Trajan temple (now gone) that would have stood on the top of where grass now grows.

          There isn’t much left of the Domitian Temple itself but underneath, there is an inscription museum. We had to pay a little extra to get into this museum but it was definitely worth it. One of the inscriptions inside the museum was from the 5th-6th century BC, one was from 4th century BC, and there were many other inscriptions just as old. Some inscriptions were broken, and some still held the complete message. Some inscriptions were execution notices and some were tombstones from their graves. One inscription in particular though caught the attention of a couple people including myself. On the very first line of the inscription, it had the letters AYTOKPATOPAKAIΣAPA. One thing that I’ve learned from Greek is that there is no punctuation so it is hard to decide when one word ends and the next word starts. For this inscription though, with the help of my scholarly classmates, I learned that AYTOKAPTO can be interpreted to an auto/self-ruler, implying lordship. KAIΣAP means Kaiser, which is referring to Caesar. So the first line of the inscription reads something like, Caesar is the only one who rules himself, or no one is above Caesar. Apparently it was not uncommon to begin inscriptions with this statement to show reference and respect the emperor.

Another example--Though it is missing the first two letters "KA," you can tell that the inscription reads KAIΣAP (Caesar) ΣEBAΣTOΣ (Sebastos, which is Greek for the Latin "Augustus," a word which we commonly render as "Almighty" in our Bibles) and AYTOKPATOP (Auto/self-ruler, a title given to the one with ultimate, imperial power--the emperor). Thus, the inscription may be translated as, "Almighty Ceasar, the Emperor."

       
          In John’s book of Revelation, he writes in what is called symbolic language. He writes in a way that in the 1st century AD, early Christians would understand the contexts in which John wrote. Due to John’s symbolism though, it is very difficult to interpret the book of Revelation without any historical criticism. John opens the book with these two verses (Revelations 1:4-5), “John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth…” This last statement is interesting to me. There is a chance that John could have been doing a play on words here with inscriptions like the one I saw! Romans are writing inscriptions saying that no one is above Caesar, that Caesar is lord of all, and here John comes back saying that Jesus Christ is the ruler of all the kings of the earth. Seeing these inscriptions and understanding that John was probably talking against the very thing I’m looking at is something that is hard to put into words. I have never imagined seeing the things here in Turkey that I am which makes it hard for me to fully grasp the significance of them.

          Seeing these ancient cities and these giant temples and fortresses gives me a whole new understanding of my God. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around God’s characteristics as is, but seeing these things makes it even more difficult. I have a hard time understanding that He is timeless, that He is sovereign, and with many other things, but being able to walk on the same road that Paul the apostle, John the apostle, and so many other historic evangelists whose writing still inspire helps me to understand God better. My understanding for God’s grace has changed because now I understand the sheer numbers of people, Christian or not, who lived between Paul the apostle and me. The God who gives me breath and the strength to live each day is the same God who shined a light on a lost man named Saul on a road to Damascus. The God who transformed a man’s live and transformed him into one of the most significant Christians of all time, is the same God who I have a relationship with. God’s love, which is already hard for me to fully grasp in my own life has been extending down from above for hundreds and thousands of years. This trip not only has given a lot of experience and knowledge of the society of Biblical times, but it has also helped me to understand my God in a much more complete way.

Drew Pagenkopf

Looking down the Curates in Ephesus down at the Celsius Library and where the Old Harbor once was.

Looking underneath the Domitian Temple at the Inscription Musuem.

Inscription of the word "Efes" which means Ephesus.

Light and Dark Across the Ages - A Day in Patmos, Greece

Early in the morning, as we traverse the Aegean Sea from the coast of Turkey, the blinding rays of the bright Turkish sun break through the clouds to sparkle on the dazzlingly blue waves.  The reflection of the blazing light stands in stark contrast to the dark mountains of the surrounding islands and the shadows of the deep waters.  I am irresistibly reminded of the events that took place here, aftershocks rippling out from the epicenter of Jerusalem, where the Messiah was crucified, was buried, and rose again, breaking every expectation and preconception of what God’s coming reign would be like.  The believers who lived in this place understood themselves as being caught up in a grand story of cosmic proportions, a conflict between good and evil, life and death, light and darkness.

            As we approach our destination, I see the bright sunlight glimmering on the white buildings of Patmos.  They are painted to reflect the Mediterranean sun and regulate the heat.  Their flat roofs are used to collect rainwater, but they also present a striking view from the ocean, white geometric shapes scattered across the rolling hills. The island’s population of roughly three thousand lives in three villages: Skala, Kampos, and Chora.  A tiny Greek island in the Dodecanese chain, Patmos is a breathtakingly beautiful site, understandably a significant tourist location; the main economic focus of the island is tourism.  However, there is more here to draw visitors than the natural beauty of the beaches, mountains, surrounding ocean and islands, and unparalleled views.  

Though it is only thirteen square miles, this island carries a surprising weight of history and significance.  In one of the three villages, the Monastery of St. John the Theologian holds relics from centuries and millennia past, many of which bear great importance to people on this island and others around the world.  One of the most impressive is the Codex Purpeurus Petropolitanus, or “Purple Codex,” an early manuscript of the gospel of Mark written on red-dyed parchment in silver and gold lettering.  Dating from the late 5^th-early 6^th century, this is not only a valuable piece of art, but also an important theological artifact, as it is thought to be one of the sources of the New Testament.  This book is surrounded by many other beautiful pieces: ancient texts, relics and priestly vestments, and frescoes and icons depicting biblical scenes, saints, and heavenly beings. 

St John the Theologian, Jesus Christ, and Christodoulos Latrenus

The entrance to the monastery displays a more recent piece of art: a triptych-like mosaic depicting three figures, donated in 1995.  In the center is Christ, on the left is St. John the Theologian, and on the right is Christodoulos Latrenus.  Christodoulos, whose name means “servant of Christ,” was the founder of the monastery.  A millennium ago, in 1088, Christodoulos appealed for permission to construct a monastery on the island of Patmos in honor of John, the writer of the book of Revelation.  This permission was granted by the current ruler, Emperor Alexios I Comnenos.  The island was, at this point, plagued by pirates, and its inhabitants lived in fear of attack.  Because of this, the monastery was fortified significantly – viewed from the outside, it looks more like a castle than a church. 

The view above the front gate of the Monastery of St. John the Theologian

            Above the front gate, St. John, the Theologian is depicted once again.  John is the most significant individual connected to Patmos and Christian history, and most of the historical sites on the island are somehow related to his life and legacy.  To discover what made his experience on the island of Patmos so significant to this day, we must travel back another millennium.  This John who wrote the book of Revelation is thought by some to be the same John who wrote the epistles I, II, and III John and the Gospel of John, the same John who was one of Jesus’ original twelve disciples.  The inhabitants of Patmos adhere to this belief; in any case, John, the Revelator was a leader in the early church, significantly at Ephesus, during the rule of the Roman Empire.  The Empire found that it was necessary to maintain greater unity throughout its vast area, so it enforced the practice of emperor worship as a requirement for partaking of the empire’s commercial and economic resources.  Christians who would not comply were seen as treasonous and as a threat; John was one such Christ-follower who was so outspoken about the Lordship of Christ over and against the enforced confession “Caesar is Lord” that he was exiled under the Emperor Domitian’s rule.  He would have been deprived of rights and property, and could look forward to a permanent stay on the island.  John is traditionally thought to have been exiled along with Prochorus, an early deacon in the church and said by some to be John’s nephew.

St. John the Theologian and his pupil, Prochorus

St. John, the Theologian would have been confined to the small island, likely living in a house in one of the villages.  He is thought to have visited a cave facing the bay to pray, and this traditional location has become one of the most significant sites on the island: the Cave of the Apocalypse.  The word apocalypse means to unveil or reveal something hidden, to provide a glimpse into a heavenly reality intersecting with our own earthly experience, and this is what John encountered and then provided for others.  He saw a vision of the resurrected Christ, who is described in vivid metaphorical imagery that icon painters have been inspired by as they attempt to depict this powerful scene recounted in Revelation 1.

The church built on top of the cave

            The natural cave where this may have taken place has been converted into a kind of church, and Greek Orthodox services are held there regularly.  The rough rock walls and wooden benches are juxtaposed against the ornate Orthodox decorations and the intricately stylized icons.  Slender candles can be lit by visitors and pilgrims to represent their prayers offered to God.  Even apart from all this, however, the cave itself is an astounding place.  I found myself overwhelmed by the thought that in this cave, or in a place very like it, John heard the voice of God and turned around to see the risen Jesus.  I was amazed to look out from the cave and see the same mountains and oceans that John must have gazed at as he prayed for and longed to be reunited with the believers in Ephesus whom he loved.

The view from the Cave of the Apocalypse

            John wrote the book of Revelation in the year 95 C.E., during his exile, and sent it to seven churches in Turkey.  He was eventually freed, when Emperor Domitian was assassinated and the subsequent ruler annulled his predecessor’s decrees.  A thousand years later, the Monastery of the Apocalypse was built directly over the cave.  As we return to our boat and travel back to Turkey, I am powerfully struck by the fact that John traversed these same waters, no doubt eagerly anticipating his reunion with his brothers and sisters in Christ.  Even as I look around at the same Aegean Sea that John saw, I also recognize the distance of millennia that separates us from his experience.  What is just as amazing, however, is that his legacy still has a more profound impact on our lives today that we will ever know.  His message of hope in the midst of suffering, the call to persevere and conquer in the face of persecution and difficulty, and the vision to see the evil in the world while also recognizing that good will triumph can all encourage us and inspire us to worship along with the church throughout the past two thousand years.  Christ still calls us to repent, literally to turn around, and to see who He is and what He has for us to do as we step into the light and become a part of God’s redemptive work in His Creation.

Michael Huerter

A letter to the Church at Ephesus

Yesterday we visited the ancient city of Ephesus, the ruins were quite impressive. We enjoyed putting our Greek and Latin reading skills together when reading the inscriptions on the ancient monuments. 

We picked out "devotions" from this Latin inscription.

Can you find EFESO in the Greek letters?

Later, at St. John's Basillica, Dr. John Yeatts shared this devotion with us.

Listening to the devotion in the apse of the basilica.

The Witnessing Church I: When Being Right Costs Too Much

Revelation 2:1-7

“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”

            In the mid-nineteenth century, there was a division in my denomination – the Brethren in Christ or the River Brethren as they were known then.  Matthias Brinser had joined the River Brethren at an early age and became a bishop much in demand for his enthusiastic preaching.  Brinser and his followers decided to construct a small building to accommodate the zealous worshippers.  Although the building was quite unpretentious, the River Brethren had always worshipped in member’s homes like the Amish do today, because that is how the New Testament church met.  So the proposed building stirred up opposition from other River Brethren communities.

            On a day of torrential rain, a council meeting was convened to address the issue of church buildings. The debate continued until about two o’clock in the morning, when Brinser left, saying he wanted to avoid being cut off by swollen streams.  The opposition interpreted his leaving to be an act of defiance.  So a statement was formulated and unanimously accepted asking Brinser and his followers to cease construction of the church building.  They refused, and the church proceeded to excommunicate Brinser from the River Brethren.  Brinser’s group formed a new denomination which has come to be called the United Zion Church.  The irony of the schism is that by this time the River Brethren had already constructed several meeting houses in other regions. 

The two denominations created by the controversy have remained separate to the present.  There have been attempts by both groups to reunite, and there has been some cooperation.  A request for forgiveness was formulated by the Brethren in Christ and accepted by the United Zion Church, but only informal fellowship has existed between the two groups. 

            A similar situation existed in the church John addresses in Ephesus.  He says: “you have abandoned the love you had at first.”  That may mean that they have lost the original enthusiasm that they had for their faith in Jesus Christ.  Yet the rest of the letter seems to indicate that there were disagreements among the Ephesian Christians.  Therefore, it is more likely that what they lost was the love that they had for each other.  Disagreement over the truth of the gospel had driven out the love that they once had for their Christian brothers and sisters.

            John’s letter to Ephesus begins like the other seven letters, with a title for Christ.  Like many of the other titles, this one comes from the vision in chapter one: “These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.”  Remember that “the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (1:20).  Christ’s words remind us that he walks among his churches like God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden that he had created for them.  Moreover, he holds them in his right hand of protection.  What a blessed thought!

            Christ knows intimately each of the seven churches he addresses.  The letters give evidence that they are addressed to real congregations in Asia Minor.  In the case of Ephesus, Christ says: “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance.”  “Toil” refers to “labor to the point of exhaustion” and speaks of missionary activity.  A common theme in Revelation, “patient endurance,” refers to perseverance in the face of persecution.  Ephesus was a town where evil spirits and idol worship were common (Acts 19:8-40).  The Ephesian Christians are praised for their consistent witness even in tribulation. 

            The Ephesians were so zealous for the truth that they “tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false.”  The word “apostles” literally means the “sent ones.”  In the church of John’s day, as at all times, there were both true and false apostles.  The Ephesians were outstanding in their ability to tell the difference.  Ignatius of Antioch, a student of the apostle John, commends the Ephesian church in a letter because no false teaching could gain a hearing among them. 

Although the Ephesians were zealous for the truth, as is often the case, their greatest flaw grew out of their greatest strength.  Their zeal for the truth caused them to be so concerned to be right that they lost the love that they once had for fellow Christians who disagreed with them.  Christ says: “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”  Christians can be so concerned to protect the truth that they reject those who differ with them.  Let’s be clear: being right is important, as we will see in the letters to Pergamum and Thyatira.   Being right is important, but more important is the love that we should have for our fellow Christians because that is how the world will know that we are Christians (John 13:35). 

So, what should we do if we have allowed concern to root out false teaching to destroy our love for each other?  John gives a three stage process – remember, repent, and do.  “Remember then from what you have fallen.”  We are to be constantly aware that our human nature may cause us to be critical rather than compassionate.  Second, we are to “repent” – change our minds.  We must commit ourselves now to change our minds from judging to loving.  Finally, we are to “do the works [we] did at first.”  We are to love even fellow Christians we believe to be wrong. 

Christ gives a warning to those who refuse to repent: “I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent.”  The lampstand is the church.  If persons do not repent of their commitment to being right at the expense of brotherly love, Christ will allow their church to be removed from its place.  Do you know of churches that have been destroyed by persons who were sure that they were right – that they were the true church?  That is when being right costs too much.

Yet, being right is important.  Christ says: “this is to your credit: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”  We’ll see the Nicolaitans again in the letter to Pergamum.  For now, it is enough to say that their practices were seen as inconsistent with the Christian faith.  The Ephesians were right to reject such teachings and hold to the truth.  They will be rewarded for this with “permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.”  Revelation teaches that the paradise of the garden of Eden will be recreated in the end.  In symbolic language Christ is telling us that if we repent of our lack of love for Christians who disagree with us, we will receive eternal life in God’s paradise.  Such love is the basis for our worship together with our fellow Christians. 

Sing: We Are One In The Spirit

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored

Chorus:
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we’ll guard each man’s dignity and save each man’s pride

Pray:  Our Lord Jesus Christ, who holds our church in the palm of your hand, give us renewed commitment to the truth to which we have been called to bear witness.  But help us not to be so narrow in our understanding of that truth that we lose our love for each other, so that in the end we will be given permission to eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God.  Amen.

Şirince village

Şirince village

On Tuesday the 27^th, we visited the Şirince village. While on our way to Şirince, we were told about the Population Exchange.  The Population Exchange was a Treaty that took place in 1924 between the Turks, Greeks, English, and Italians following World War I. During this time, they were under negotiations about where the lines would be drawn for Turkey.  The Greeks tried to get a part of Turkey’s lands for themselves as they had been under the Ottoman’s Empire for several centuries.  In the end, Greece got almost all the islands.  During the time of the Ottoman Empire, Greeks were free to move about the Ottoman Empire as well as Turks were allowed to do the same, so some Greeks were at that time living in Turkey while some Turks were living in Greece about the same time. Anyways, as the story goes during this population exchange, some of the Greeks had to return to Greece and some of Turks had to return to Turkey, more or less the Christian Greeks moved to Greece while Islamic Turks moved to Turkey.

Şirince Village had been one of these Greek cultures that resided in the Turkey during that time.  Ҁirkince was what the town was originally called, but it was changed to Şirince because of what Ҁirkince meant. It was named Ҁirkince because the Turks didn’t like the Greeks moving into their lands.  Ҁirkince meant “the ugly people town” because all the Greeks had moved there, but when the Turks were populating that village again, the name was changed to Şirince to mean “the cute people town”.  When the town was originally populated, it had three churches by the Greeks who moved to there during the Ottoman Empire.

From this forced population exchange, 1.5 million Greeks had to return to Greece while .4 million Turks had to return to Turkey. The people that resided there were of the older generation since the most of the Greek population that resided there had to go back to Greece so now there were less people in the village so that most of the younger generation wanted to move to Izmir because Izmir was a more populated area. Most of the people that live there now are indeed Turkish though some of their traditions may still have some Greek roots, like the wine production for example. When we visited on Tuesday, it only had the Church of St. John the Baptist. The Şirince Village was also known for its production of sweet wines, as there was a multitude of local fruits and produce in area that they lived. The wine making productions was one the Greek traditions, but when the Greeks left the Turks took over their wine making productions.  

inside of the church

The village had only one main street that ran through it, with other, smaller streets branching off of it.  The Church of St. John the Baptist resided at the top of this singular, main street.  The main street was made of cobble stones and to get to the church you had climb these steep, cobbled stoned steps.  There were shopping markets on either side of you.  

shops along the main street

As we rode the bus to the Şirince Village we got to see a lot of the fresh crops that were grown there.  Pomegranates, olives, and peaches were just a few that we saw in the fields

While Şirince was still a small village, there was still a lot to look at and purchase from tablecloths to soaps to hand creams to spices to dresses and list goes on and on.  Everything we saw was handmade, homegrown or home produced; everything was local.

Sarah Trice 

Ephesus, another perspective

            As our group entered into the ancient city of Ephesus, we went through the state agora, which was the entrance for Roman citizens.  To be able to enter through this particular place was considered to be an honor because not everyone could be a Roman citizen.  Paul himself could have passed through here if he would have wanted.  And as one makes their way along the path of the agora, you can stop to see the bulitarium, which was a meeting area where Roman citizens would meet for forums. With the look of a theatre, Romans would occupy the seats, and when they needed to take the platform to speak, there are aisles carved down the steps leading to the platform.  During the Byzantine era when Christianity became accepted, the meeting area was Christianized by the placing of a cross over the entrance. 

Christianization of Roman constructions was common in the Byzantine era.

            As we were passing through this part of the city, we got to see some of the ancient water pipe system that ran through this city.  They were clay pipes placed in the ground that would run water to different parts of the city.  There are still places in Turkey that have a functional clay pipe system.  These clay pipes would start to fill with calcium deposit from the water, and they would need to be replaced, and so they would fix them one little piece at a time. 

Cenkis our archeologist guide (he has worked on this site for 40 years!) holding up a partially blocked pipe.

After we examined the water pipes, we came to the inscription museum, which is housed in the base of the Temple of the Sebastoi.  This temple was dedicated to emperor worship, and was built by Domitian in 89-90 AD, and there was once a large statue of Domitian in the temple.  Now as one enters the base; it is full of the inscriptions that are important to the history of Ephesus.  You will not just find one language on these inscriptions either; there are both Greek and Latin in the museum.  One of the stones in this place held the names of the people who had won the city’s races, while another talks about how Caesar rules over all, he is lord.

An inscribed tablet found in Ephesus

            After we passed from the inscription museum, we moved on to the terrace housing, which housed the wealthy members of the city.  This area is still being worked on now, there were archeologists working as we went through.  To help protect this place from weather damage, there is a Kevlar roof overtop.  The first of the houses that we came to was from a very wealthy member of society.  This can be easily seen due to the fact that this house had its own bath.  The Roman city would have had its own bath as well, where people could have gone, and so it was not common for someone to have a bath in their house, but this house was wealthy enough to.  Not only did they have their own bath, but they also had their own basilica, and this home was also covered in marble.  This was clearly an affluent family.  Having a terrace houses also gave the owners a view over the city.  You could tell that they lived easier and more indulgent lives.

The Basilica in one of the terraced houses, the roof of this room was the floor of the house above.

            We then moved on to the library of the city, which is also a mausoleum.  Julius Aquila built this library for his father Julius Celsus Polemanenus in the year 110 AD.  This library provided educated people of this city access to books and showed that this was not a poor city.  At the front of this library, there are four statues, each in their own niche, which have a different word carved into the stone.  These four words are supposed to show the attributes of Celsus, and they are wisdom, excellence, insight, and understanding.  Not only did this library show off some wealth of the city, but you also had a massive state agora in the beginning, and many wealthy terrace homes, which showed off the wealth of the city.  It would seem that Ephesus was not second hand city, but it was an important place, for more than just the Christian faith.

The Library of Ephesus with statues representing wisdom, excellence, insight, and understanding.

            Speaking of the Christian faith though, we then moved to the site of the riot found in the book of Acts, 19:23-34.  This is a massive theatre has a very apt name, the Great Theatre.  This theatre was had a multi leveled stage, with three different levels.  This was an important place, where many people could gather, for a plethora of reasons.  There is the obvious reason as to why one could come to a theatre, for a show, whether that is musical or theatrical.  They would also hold executions here, so people of the city would come out to see this, for execution meant sport to them.  There were also public meetings held here, a place for all the people to gather to hear what someone was saying.

The great Theater of Ephesus

            It was for this last use that we hear about this place in scripture.  Paul was set to come to this place to speak to the people of the city and to try to convert them.  This would cause the people to stop worshiping gods like Zeus and Artemis.  Demetrius the silver smith saw that Paul would cause a loss in his profits, and so he came to this place to rile up the city against Paul.  He spoke out against Paul and the message that he was bringing, telling other silversmiths what harm Paul would cause and so he caused a riot in this city.  Rioting was not a legal thing though, for it could cause a lot of harm in the city, and so doing this was dangerous.  But the way the acoustics worked in this theatre, pointed the sound away from the city officials, and the streets were probably already crowded with pilgrims, so a two-hour riot could have gone unnoticed.  It was amazing to be in this place were Paul had attempted to go, even in the midst of a riot.  I can say that having seen the inside of this theatre, and seeing how many people it could hold, I would not have wanted to be in the midst of all those people rioting.

- Jared Lorraine 

A group shot in front of the library of Celsus