Berea (Veria)

BLP:

After Thessaloniki, continue on to Berea (Acts 17:10-15) where the apostle Paul arrived and according to his custom, went to the synagogue and discovered ‘to his pleasant surprise’ that the Jews he had encountered in Thessalonica were "searching the scriptures". We see the ByzanIne mosaic in the monument commemoraIng his preaching (Acts 17:10-11).

• Bible:
  • Acts 17:10, 13; 20:4
• Travel:
  • Turkey & Greece 2019
    • Mon 3/11
      • 7:00 — Breakfast in Thessaloniki
      • 8:00 — (or earlier) Following breakfast, check out
      • 9:00 — Arrive Berea (Veria) and view Monument
        • Short devotional
      • 9:30 — Depart for Meteora monasteries
• Resources:
  • Berea at Wikipedia
  • Veria at Wikipedia
  • Veria at Wikimedia
  • Web
  • Map

Background

Berea in Greek means bringer, carrier.

Beroea or Berea was an ancient city of the Hellenistic period and Roman Empire now known as Veria or Veroia in Macedonia, Northern Greece. It is a small city on the eastern side of the Vermio Mountains north of Mount Olympus. Veria was an important possession for Philip II of Macedon (father of Alexander the Great) and later for the Romans.

Apostle Paul famously preached in the city, and its inhabitants were among the first Christians in the Empire. Unbelievers came after Paul in Berea after he left Thessalonica, so the brothers sent him by sea to Athens (Acts 17:14-15). Paul then went to Corinth where he stayed for eighteen months (Acts 18:1, 11). It was during this time that Paul wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians in AD 50 or 51.

Thessalonia and Berea are about 45 miles apart.

Byzantine mosaic

In the monument commemorating Paul’s preaching, the “Tribune of Apostle Paul” is a worship monument that signifies the spot where the Apostle preached Christianity to the inhabitants of Veria.

Title image credit

More to come...