Travel with Bishop Paul, OCA Bishop of the Midwest, and Father Andrew Harrison, Pastor of St. John Chapel, on this guided tour of the Holy Land.
Itinerary:
Monday, May 27
Depart O’Hare Airport on our way to Tel Aviv, Israel
Tuesday, May 28
Arrive at Tel Aviv’s airport where our representatives greet us and give us an introduction about the forthcoming program. Proceed to our hotel along the shore of the Mediterranean, for dinner and overnight stay
Wednesday, May 29
Drive along the Coast to visit Caesarea where St. Paul was imprisoned and Cornelius baptized – see the Roman-Byzantine theater and other remains: the aqueduct and the Crusader ruins. Continue to Mt. Carmel where Elijah confronted the Pagan Gods of Baal (1st Kings 18). On to Mt. Tabor – site of Transfiguration. Continue to Cana of Galilee – site of the first miracle. End the day in Nazareth − visit the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, where Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and view the house of the Virgin. Dinner and overnight in Galilee.
Thursday, May 30
Today we tour the Sea of Galilee. Visit Capernaum and Simon Peter’s House, the Mount of the Beatitudes and Tabgha-the site of the Feeding of the Multtudes. We then take a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee and enjoy a St. Peter’s fish lunch in Tiberias. Visit the Monastery of the Apostles, Tiberias, Orthodox church in Magdala, and the recently discovered Magdala. Back to our hotel in Galilee for dinner and overnight stay.
Friday, May 31
Depart the Galilee en route to Jerusalem. Drive via the Jordan Valley to the Judean Desert to St Gerassimo – site of the Holy family’s visit on the Flight to Egypt. Visit Qumran (site of the Dead Sea Scrolls), Experience floating in the Dead Sea. Visit Jericho: Orthodox Church of St John the Baptist, Monastery on top of The Mount of Temptation, Zacheus’s Tree, Elisha’s Spring, view St. George’s Monastery, and Ascend to the Holy City for dinner and overnight stay.
Saturday, June 01
Drive to Bethlehem to worship at the ancient Orthodox Church of the Nativity, Manger Square, and Shepherds’ Fields. Ascend the Mount of Olives, visit Orthodox Churches of the Ascension, walk Palm Sunday Road, Church of St Mary Magdalene, the Garden of Gethsemane, Tomb of Mary, and Church of St. Steven. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.
Sunday, June 02
Liturgy at St Mary Magdalene. Continue our pilgrimage to visit the Monastery of the Cross, Mt Zion: the Room of the Last Supper, and the Tomb of David. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.
Monday, June 03
Inside the Old City experience the various quarters and visit Church of the Resurrection, Orthodox Church of Alexander Nevsky, Prison of Christ, St Anna. Afternoon visit to Jacob’s Well, Samaria. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.
Tuesday, June 04
Visit Lydda -Monastery of St George. Continue to Jaffa to the Monastery of St Michael the Archangel, and the Orthodox Church of St. Peter and St. Tabitha in Jaffa. Walk along the streets of ancient Jaffa, which today is an artists’ colony. Back to our hotel for farewell dinner and overnight stay.
Wednesday, June 05
Morning transfer to the airport for our flight back home − same day arrival at ORD Airport.