This is our first pilgrimage. We are thankful that we can make it amidst the conflict in the Middle East. We asked ourselves, what does it mean to be in the footsteps of St Paul, reading his letters while standing in the place that shaped them?
We arrived Thessaloniki yesterday afternoon, 26 April 2026 and went straight up to the upper city which offers a marvellous view of city port of Thessalonik, whichi is the second largest city after Athens with a population of 1.1 million.
Ancient Thessaloniki was a major Macedonian city founded in 316 BCE, later becoming a key Roman province and an important center of early Christianity.
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, we stated with a beautiful mass with Fr Alex and Fr Chris at the Immaculate Conception Church’s chapel.
Among the historical sites we visited later were the remnants of the Roman Agora, the public space once used for assemblies and markets. Around this area is believed to have stood the synagogue where Paul reasoned with the Jews from the Scriptures for three Sabbaths (Acts 17:1–3). It is disheartening to see that they are now reduced to mere rubble.
Thessaloniki has been destroyed and rebuilt repeatedly over the centuries—under Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and modern Greek rule.
This recalls Jesus’ words: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). What humans build proves fragile and temporary. The impermanence of the physical world stands in sharp contrast to the enduring nature of God’s Word.
The early church that Paul planted in Thessaloniki faced persecution and marginalisation, yet they remained full of hope. Paul, imitating Christ the Good Shepherd—as Fr Alex mentioned in today’s homily—shepherded the community with deep pastoral care. He encouraged and strengthened the church through his letters and by sending them young Timothy, a concrete expression of his concern and love for them.
The ruins remind us that what is visible is temporary—but what God establishes in Christ is eternal.
Kelvin and Susan Chen, St Timothy’s Church Forest Hill