In the Footsteps of St. Paul
Pilgrimage to Turkey and Greece
Walk where the Acts of the Apostles still speaks
From Mars Hill in Athens to the Seven Churches of Revelation, from the river where Lydia was baptized to the cave on Patmos where St. John saw the end of all things — this is the world of the early Church, walked one holy site at a time.
Athens, Greece
30+ Years Guiding Catholic Pilgrims
Daily Mass at Sacred Sites
Expert Local Guides
The Seven Churches of Revelation
The Invitation
The Land Where Scripture Speaks
A Catholic pilgrimage to Greece and Turkey is more than a religious tour. It is the slow discovery that the New Testament has an address. You stand on the Areopagus where Paul reasoned with the Athenians, kneel beside the river at Philippi where Lydia became the first European Christian, and venerate the cave on Patmos where the Word gave John the Revelation.
For over thirty years, Tekton Ministries has led pilgrims along the roads of the Apostle — not to photograph the ruins, but to be changed by them. The pilgrim who has walked these places comes home carrying something quiet and permanent: the Acts of the Apostles is no longer a text. It is a place they have been.
For over thirty years, Tekton Ministries has led pilgrims along the roads of the Apostle — not to photograph the ruins, but to be changed by them. The pilgrim who has walked these places comes home carrying something quiet and permanent: the Acts of the Apostles is no longer a text. It is a place they have been.
You do not come home from Greece and Turkey with souvenirs. You come home reading Scripture as though for the first time.
Destination Spotlight
A Journey Through the Acts of the Apostles
The Seven Churches of Asia
Pilgrimage Sites in Turkey
Straddling two continents, Turkey holds more of the New Testament than any land outside the Holy Land itself. Here are the Seven Churches of Revelation, the city of Ephesus where St. Paul ministered for two years, the House of the Virgin Mary, and the island of Patmos where St. John received the Revelation. These are the essential Catholic pilgrimage sites in Turkey.
Ephesus
St. Paul's two years · the House of Mary
St. Paul spent two years here and wrote his Letter to the Ephesians to this community. Walk the great theater where he addressed the crowds, visit the House of the Virgin Mary on Mount Nightingale, the Basilica of St. John built over his tomb, and the Temple of Artemis — one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Istanbul
Ancient Constantinople
The former capital of the Byzantine Empire, where East meets West across the Bosphorus. Marvel at the Hagia Sophia, the Imperial Basilica of Holy Wisdom raised by Justinian; the golden Byzantine mosaics of the Chora Church; and the great cisterns and palaces of the city the Church once called the second Rome.
Pergamum
One of the Seven Churches
Among the most favored of the Seven Churches, where Christianity took root very early — the city Revelation calls the place "where Satan's throne is." See the fabled hillside Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus and Temple of Athena, and the Asclepion, one of the foremost healing centers of the ancient world.
Patmos
The cave of the Revelation
Reached by boat from the Turkish coast, the Greek island where St. John was exiled and received the Revelation that closes the New Testament. Enter the Grotto of the Apocalypse and the eleventh-century Monastery of St. John, which still guards an ancient manuscript of the Gospel.
Revelation 2–3
The Seven Churches of Revelation
St. John addressed seven letters to seven churches of Asia Minor. A Tekton pilgrimage has the option to walk the ruins of all seven — the living geography of the Book of Revelation.
I
Ephesus
The church that had forsaken its first love. St. Paul's two years; the Basilica of St. John.
II
Smyrna · Izmir
The persecuted church, faithful unto death. Home of St. Polycarp, disciple of St. John and martyr.
III
Pergamum
The church dwelling where Satan's throne is. Hilltop Acropolis and the Asclepion.
IV
Thyatira
Commended for love, faith, and service that grew greater with time.
V
Sardis
The church with a name for being alive, yet asleep. The marble road and Temple of Artemis.
VI
Philadelphia
The faithful church set before an open door that no one can shut.
VII
Laodicea
The lukewarm church — neither hot nor cold — near Colossae and Hierapolis.
✦
Walk All Seven
Our combined itineraries trace each of the seven churches in turn, with Mass along the way.
More Turkey Sites Your Pilgrimage May Include
Photo: Özgür Arda BAYRAM, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped
Gateway to Gallipoli and legendary Troy — and to Troas, where St. Paul received his vision of the man of Macedonia calling him to carry the Gospel into Europe.
In the Footsteps of St. Paul
Pilgrimage Sites in Greece
A Catholic pilgrimage to Greece walks the lands St. Paul himself crossed on his missionary journeys — from the synagogue at Corinth to the riverbank at Philippi where the first European was baptized. A Greece pilgrimage is where the Acts of the Apostles steps off the page and onto the road.
Athens
Mars Hill · Acts 17
Stand on the Areopagus — Mars Hill — where St. Paul preached to the Athenians of the "unknown god," as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. Above rises the Acropolis with its Parthenon, and below sits the ancient Agora where Paul reasoned daily with all who would listen.
Corinth
Two letters · the treatise on love
St. Paul lived and preached here for nearly two years and later wrote the Corinthians two letters — including his great treatise on love. Stand at the Bema where he was brought to judgment, and imagine the synagogue crowds first hearing the Gospel preached in Greece.
Philippi
Lydia, the first European convert
The first city in Europe where St. Paul preached the Gospel and baptized Lydia, his first European convert. Many groups celebrate an outdoor Mass beside the very river where she was baptized — for many pilgrims, the most profound moment of the journey. See too the crypt that tradition holds was Paul's prison.
Photo: DocWoKav, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped
Thessaloniki
Two epistles · an early church
St. Paul founded a church here on his second missionary journey and later wrote the Thessalonians two letters. Visit the basilicas of St. Demetrius and St. Sophia, the old city ramparts, and the monuments of a city that has prayed without interruption since apostolic times.
Photo: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped
More Greece Sites Your Pilgrimage May Include
Ancient Neapolis — the port where St. Paul first set foot on European soil, making it the first place in Europe to receive the Gospel.
The Apostle's Road
The Saints Who Walked Here
St. Paul
Apostle to the Gentiles · Athens, Corinth, Philippi, Ephesus
The persecutor turned apostle who carried the Gospel out of Asia and into Europe. His second and third missionary journeys trace the whole arc of this pilgrimage — from the synagogue at Corinth to two years at Ephesus — and his letters to these very communities still shape the Church.
St. John the Evangelist
The Beloved Disciple · Ephesus & Patmos
Exiled to the island of Patmos, where he received the Revelation that closes the New Testament. Tradition places his later years and his tomb at Ephesus, where the Basilica of St. John was raised above his grave.
St. Lydia
First European convert · Philippi
A dealer in purple cloth whose heart the Lord opened to Paul's preaching. Baptized with her household by the river at Philippi, she became the first Christian in Europe — the door through which the faith entered a continent.
St. Polycarp
Bishop of Smyrna · martyr
A disciple of St. John and fourth Bishop of Smyrna, among the first Christian martyrs. His witness gives a face to the church Revelation called faithful unto death — venerated at the Church of St. Polycarp in modern Izmir.
Pilgrim Voices
From Those Who Have Returned
"My favorite moment was having Mass at the river where Lydia, the first European convert, and her family were baptized. It was so peaceful there… and profound."
Rev. Matthew V.
Turkey & Greece Pilgrim from Weston, NE
"The depth of knowledge gained by witnessing the development of our Catholic faith through actual contact with the Acts of the Apostles locations will allow me to live out my faith differently now."
Gerald T.
Turkey & Greece Pilgrim from Memphis, TN
"The guides did a superb job — personable, patient, deeply educated, and they shared it all so well, with a real sense of humor along the way."
John F.
Turkey & Greece Pilgrim from Memphis, TN
The Tekton Difference
Why Pilgrims Travel to Turkey & Greece with Tekton
Over 30 Years in Ministry
More than 20,000 pilgrims served across over 1,000 groups since 1996 — leading the way to the lands of St. Paul and the early Church.
Daily Mass
Mass at Corinth, beside the river at Philippi where Lydia was baptized, at the Church of St. Polycarp, and at the House of Mary - these are just a few potential prayerful sites to celebrate the liturgy.
Knowledgeable Local Guides
Expert local guides bring the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation to life on the ground, while your priest celebrates daily Mass and leads the group spiritually throughout.
Properly Paced Itineraries
Time built in for prayer, reflection, and confession at the holy sites — never a forced march from one ruin to the next.
Custom-Crafted Itineraries
Greece and Turkey combined — or either one alone — built around the needs and pace of your specific parish or group.
Prayerful Pre-Pilgrimage Prep
Spiritual resources to ready your heart before departure, so you arrive a pilgrim and return changed — seeds of grace, not souvenirs.
Pilgrim Questions
Questions About a Turkey & Greece Pilgrimage
What to know before you walk in the footsteps of St. Paul.
What are the Seven Churches of Revelation?
Where did St. Paul travel in Greece and Turkey?
Why is Turkey important in the Bible?
Is it safe to travel to Turkey and Greece on pilgrimage?
Do I need a visa to visit Turkey or Greece?
How long is a typical Turkey and Greece pilgrimage?
Read Before You Go
The Apostle's Road Is Waiting
Walk Where the Word Was Spoken
The Seven Churches, the cities of St. Paul, and the long road home — where you return reading Scripture as though for the first time.