I’m resurrecting what I said last year on Ash Wednesday, as I hope the sentiments still ring true: Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent that leads to Easter. For me it marks an anniversary of sorts. Eighteen years ago, after being away from Christianity for a long time, Ash Wednesday was the day I found my way back. After attending a service at a local Episcopal church (now my home parish), I remember thinking, “Well,... Read more
Some of you, perhaps, have heard of Brian McLaren, an author, former pastor, activist, and leader in what’s been called the “emergent church.” I had the good fortune to be at a workshop over the weekend with McLaren, who had some fascinating things to say about the past, present, and possible future of Christianity. One never knows how such church workshops are going to go. I’ve been to ones that brought new meaning to the word “tedious,” workshops where I... Read more
At last we come to the end of the Holy Rover’s travels in Turkey. Thank you for your patience in traveling with me over the past weeks. I did go on at some length, I realize, but there was so much that fascinated and delighted me in Turkey that I wanted to re-live my experiences by writing about them. Many of these posts have now migrated over to the other part of this website, where you can click through the... Read more
Today’s post is also my monthly column for the Episcopal News Service. You can read it here or below. When I became an Episcopalian two decades ago, one of my great pleasures was being able to be open about my love for the Virgin Mary. Growing up in another denomination, I’d been taught that while she could be trotted out at Christmas, hanging around with her the rest of the year was idolatrous. I found myself attracted to... Read more
No ancient ruins or beautiful holy sites today, for this post is for cat lovers alone. As one myself, I was delighted in Turkey to see many cats—sunbathing on public benches, pouncing on each other in parks, even warming themselves before a lamp in Hagia Sophia (see above). Particularly in Istanbul, cats seemed to rule the city. These cats didn’t have the sad and furtive demeanor of strays, either. Most seemed to be quite healthy and well-fed. The reason, according to... Read more
I said yesterday that Zeus had fled the acropolis at Pergamum, but I think one of the city’s other divine patrons still lingers at the bottom of the hill: Asclepius, the god of healing. Asclepius watches over the ruins of the Asklepion, a healing complex located at the base of the Pergamum acropolis. The site was founded in the 4th Century BC around a sacred spring that still flows. Over the next centuries it became one of the best-known healing... Read more
If you’re wondering if the Holy Rover is ever going to come back from Turkey, don’t give up hope, for I have just a few more days left of ruminations on my trip. I’m not quite through with Ephesus—more on that later—but today we take a journey about three hours north to the town of Bergama, also known by its Greek name of Pergamum. After entering the acropolis at Pergamum, my first reaction was this: Why in the world isn’t... Read more
Compared with the grandeur of Ephesus, the ruins of the Basilica of St. John are far less impressive, but the site was still one of my favorites in Turkey. Let me tell you why. Located in the town of Selçuk a few miles away from Ephesus, the remains of the basilica overlook the remnants of the Temple of Artemis, creating a matched set of two great religious landmarks now fallen into ruin. Ayasuluk Hill—the site of the ruins of the... Read more
While the list of former residents of Ephesus reads like a Who’s Who of the ancient world, there’s one name that stands above them all: the Apostle Paul, who made the city his base for more than two years while traveling in Asia Minor on missionary work. When Paul came to this cosmopolitan city around the year 53, it was already home to a small Christian community. It was in Ephesus that Paul wrote his First Letter to the Corinthians,... Read more
In a way I cheated by telling you about the ruins of the Temple of Artemis first. You likely have an entirely wrong impression of Ephesus, given what I showed you of the pathetic remains of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Ephesus itself—the city, not the temple—is actually one of the most stunning places I have ever visited. At first I didn’t have a good sense for what it was about. One goes through the entrance... Read more
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