5.1.1. St. Paul's Authentic Journeys

St. Paul was a Roman citizen, Jewish Christian missionary, and the founder of the Pavlik churches who lived from 5 to 67 A.D. The Bible refers to him as Paul. He is widely regarded as the most influential figure in the spread of Christianity from Jerusalem to Anatolia and then to Europe. The Acts of the Apostles section of the New Testament in the Bible contains information on St. Paul's life and travels. St. Paul, according to the New Testament, made four different journeys (Figure 1) for missionary purposes over a period of 20 years (Baniotopoulou 2016; CRS 2012; SPMJ n.d.).

**Figure 1.** St. Paul journeys.

He made his first journey between the years 46 and 48 AD. He first travels by sea to Antioch (Antakya), Selecuia (Samanda ˘g), Cyprus, and Attalia (Antalya) Marine, and then by road to Perge, Psidia Antioch (Yalvaç), and Iconium (Konya). He completes his first journey by returning to Antioch (Antakya) via the same route, without stopping in Cyprus (Baniotopoulou 2016; CRS 2012; SPMJ n.d.).

He made his Second Journey between 49 and 52 A.D. He traveled by road from Jerusalem to Antioch (Antakya), Tarsus, Iconium (Konya), Psidia Antioch (Yalvaç), and Troy (Çanakkale). He reached North Macedonia–Greece–Anatolia (Ephesus)–Rhodes Island–Syria–Jerusalem by sea from Troy (Çanakkale). Again, by road, he passed to Galatia– Phrygia–Antioch (Antakya) (Baniotopoulou 2016; CRS 2012; SPMJ n.d.).

He made his third journey between the years 53–57 A.D. He first traveled by road to Antioch (Antakya), Tarsus, Iconium (Konya), Psidia Antioch (Yalvaç), and Troy (Çanakkale). He traveled by sea to North Macedonia. He visited the cities of North Macedonia and Greece. He returned via Greece, Troy (Çanakkale), Kos Island, Rhodes Island, Kalkan, Tyre and Jerusalem (Baniotopoulou 2016; CRS 2012; SPMJ n.d.).

He made his fourth journey between 59–69 A.D. However, this is a mandatory journey. In Jerusalem, St. Paul was arrested and judged by Roman authorities. Following the trial, he was transported to Rome via Syria–Sidon–Antioch (Antakya–Tarsus–Demre–Datça–Crete Island–Malta Island–Sicily–Italy). St. Paul was imprisoned here before being executed in 64 or 67 A.D. (Baniotopoulou 2016; CRS 2012; SPMJ n.d.).

## 5.1.2. Currently Used St. Paul Routes

There are many St. Paul's Routes practiced today. However, one route led by Greece and another route implemented in Turkey are quite active and popular. In addition, both practices have efforts to obtain certification from international organizations. Therefore, in this study, these two routes were chosen as the current St. Paul Route applications.
