EPHESUS: THE ANCIENT CITY

Friday 4 October 2013
EPHESUS: THE ANCIENT CITY

Airport. Again? This is my 41st flight of the year, and we're heading toward Ephesus, legendary biblical city where Saint Paul established a Christian community, Saint John was imprisoned, and where Jesus' mother Mary came to live out  her final years.

But first, Istanbul Airport. I was surprised to discover that security screening is the very first thing to do upon entering the front doors of the terminal. Ticket counter follows. No prob. Off come the belt, the metal, the electronics. Yawn. So routine for me now. We presented our passports, received our tickets, and then -- surprise! Second security screening! Off came the belt, the metal, the electronics. Again??

Anyway, after a 45-minute flight over beautiful rural land and blue water, we landed in the ancient city. Saint Paul's famous letter to the Ephesians is often the first thing that comes to mind after hearing the word "Ephesus," but a lot more happened here than the Epistle.

The Romans had a significant presence in Ephesus. They took over the region from the Greeks and built a city that included administrative and parliamentary buildings, the Library of Celsius, a 25,000-seat amphitheater, and a bath complex equipped with one of the most advanced aqueduct systems in the ancient world. The city also housed the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

I was unprepared for the immensity of the ruins site, nor did I know how well preserved the structures were. No completely whole buildings but just enough from which to picture the original splendor in the mind's eye: a facade here, an arch there, or several neatly laid out columns. The Library of Celsius was especially impressive with its facade, statuary, archways and ornate columns preserved almost intact.

It was a thrill to stand on center stage at the amphitheatre. I could almost hear the 25,000 spectators in those carved out seats, applauding a Greek tragedy or cheering wildly at bloody gladiator games.

This was definitely a ruins site, as underscored by the treacherous walking conditions. Centuries of erosion have rendered formerly smooth marble walkways into an uneven and slippery obstacle course. One had to walk gingerly so as not to twist an ankle, or worse. Stairways were especially challenging, with no handrail to lean on. And yet, our guide Aran kept pushing us forward at a quick pace.

That said, the Roman ruins were definitely an exciting highlight of the pilgrimage that helped me put Ephesus into historical context.

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BASILICA OF SAINT JOHN THE APOSTLE

John, the Beloved Disciple, figures largely in the history of Ephesus. Years after the Resurrection and Ascension, John settled down into the region. Legend has it that John brought Jesus' mother to Ephesus to fulfill his Lord's crucifixion request to care for Mary after the great Paschal events. She settled into a modest cottage now known as the House of the Virgin Mary. (More on that later.)

John founded a vibrant Christian community in Ephesus. The eloquence with which he expressed the words of Jesus in the gospel that bears his name implies that John himself must have been a dynamic preacher. He was briefly imprisoned by Emperor Domitian on the Island of Patmos, where tradition says he wrote the Book of Revelation, whose symbolic apocalyptic imagery has been so widely misinterpreted over the ages.

The ruins of the Basilica of Saint John date stand as an apt testimony to the successful establishment of the Johannine Christian community, which built a small church on this site, most likely in the late 90s to early 100s AD. The original church fell into disrepair but Emperor Justinian built a new, larger church over the site in 550.

The assembly area is very large. The baptismal font, shaped as a cross, was built for immersion, and the stairways on both ends allowed the baptism candidates to walk into the water, be symbolically buried in Christ, and walk out to new life. All this was impressive enough but I was unprepared for the emotional impact of coming upon Saint John's Tomb.

I started trembling. I could only kneel down on the dusty ground and pray silently as Jesus' "I Statements" from John's gospel flooded my brain and heart.

I am the bread of life . . . I am the resurrection . . . I am the way, the truth, and the life . . . I am the Good Shepherd . . .

Plus, the incomparable poetry of John's prologue: 

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. . .

I knew that Saint John is not really buried here, but I was more overwhelmed by the faith of the Johannine community who chose to honor their spiritual father by setting up a tomb for his veneration. John is not buried here? Allow me to explain. 

Many religious legends surround the death of Saint John. He allegedly received a vision of Jesus toward the end of his life in which the Lord told him, "Soon, my friend, you will join me at the Table with your brother apostles." The following Sunday, he led his own disciples to the cave in their church to pray. But a great light blinded the disciples and prevented them from entering. The light dissipated and they discovered that John was gone.

Nevertheless, there is a tomb ascribed to John at his basilica in Ephesus. Excavation over the years has revealed no evidence of bodily remains. Consider that throughout the Christian world, relics exist for all the Apostles except John. It would seem that the Beloved Disciple, to whom Jesus entrusted the care of his mother, shared with her in the blessing of bodily assumption after death. 

There were also many other things that Jesus did, but if these we to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.
-John 21:25

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HOUSE OF THE VIRGIN MARY

We concluded our incredible day in Ephesus with a visit to the House of the Virgin Mary (in Turkish: "Meryem Ana Eri").

In John's Gospel, Jesus entrusted his mother to his Beloved Disciple. According to legend, John brought Mary to Ephesus. She lived out the remainder of her days in a modest cottage.

The house was discovered in the 19th century by following the descriptions on the visions of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, who was beatified by Pope John Paul II. None of this can be proven, but the lived faith of the hundreds of thousands who have visited the House of Mary does not require proof. 

We each spent time in prayer in that humble house. We followed that with a Mass in the outdoor chapel. Songwise, we started out with "Prayer of St. Francis" since October 4 is the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi. We also sang "For the Sake of Christ" as a nod to St. Paul's ties to Ephesus. For Communion, we sang "I Am the Bread of Life," based on John 6, since John figured into our incredible day. Lastly, we sang "Immaculate Mary" because we were at Mary's House. God is good!

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BONUS: Here is a snippet of the Pegasus Airlines safety video that we saw on the flight from Ephesus to Istanbul. Funny and cute! (Note: Video is only viewable on the web version of this blogsite.)