As we are all so painfully aware, almost all travel holidays this past year were canceled.  But now many tour companies are optimistic that by late spring or early summer, with widespread vaccination internationally, travel will resume.  We will know eventually!

I have been asked to do a special tour to Rome and Southern Italy, June 4-14, 2021, (THIS June!) to give lectures on the relationship of Christianity and traditional Roman religions and cultures in the early centuries CE:  “Christians and Pagans.”   I’ve agreed to do it, and will go ahead with it, of course, only if it is completely safe.

The tour company, Thalassa, is terrific; it will be a small and intimate group and we will have tons of time to talk, discuss, and hang out together.   They are now accepting registrations for the trip.  Below is a poster for it, with a link for more information.  Here is part of what I say about my lectures.

When Christianity arrived on the world stage in the first century AD, Rome and the Empire it founded were predominantly “pagan” – filled with a large number of polytheistic religions worshipping the Greek and Roman Gods. On this tour, we will examine how the Christian faith first came to the Italian peninsula, and especially Rome, the city destined to be the epicenter of Christianity. In particular, we will explore the clash of religions and cultures: between the pagan cults of Rome and the Christian church that was to become the official religion of the empire for centuries to come.

Thalassa has indicated that as a gesture of goodwill they will donate $100 per couple ($50 per single traveler) to the blog for new travelers who register by March 1.

It’s a terrific brochure.  Check it out and see!

(Also, you will notice that the day after *this* one ends, I’ll be starting another tour to the SW coast of Croatia with Thalassa; there is a discount for anyone who wants to do both.  Hey, we can hang out for *another* ten days….).  I’ll post that brochure next!

JOURNEY HIGHLIGHTS

Travel with and learn from Prof. Bart D. Ehrman, one of the world’s foremost authorities on early Christianity.

• Discover the fabled Amalfi coast and its historic towns and villages.

• Marvel at the architectural grandeur of buildings and the beauty of art objects, considered among the finest in Europe.

• Walk the same streets as ancient Romans walked in Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Rome.

• Visit the early churches of Christianity such as the Pantheon and the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

• Feast on the food for which Southern Italy and Rome are justly famous.

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