We left from Izmir, the ancient town of Smyrna, and headed to Ephesus, early this morning. Ephesus was a beautiful site, it seemed that as we kept walking, the ruins kept coming and got more and more beautiful. As we entered the city, we discussed the historical significance of the city. Ephesus was a large and important city in Anatolia and in the Roman Empire; Ephesus was the New York City of Anatolia. Ephesus was a free city in the Roman Empire; it was ruled by a city council that reported to Rome, not by Rome itself. Here in Ephesus, the cult of Artemis was very popular; the temple to Artimus that was here was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Needless to say throughout the ruins of the city, pagan images and institutions were everywhere.

As we entered the site we sat under the shade of a tree and started our discussion with Dr. Cohick on the book of Ephesians. Paul carries wright in this letter because he is a self-identified prisoner of Christ. Throughout this letter Paul talks about the mystery of the Gospel; the mystery that through the Gospel, Gentiles and Jews are brought together as one body. There is unity among the people through the Gospel in the Church. Again, this idea of unity of peoples and the unity of the Church is present. Paul states that this unity was Jesus’ purpose. Jesus’, “purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of two, thus making peace” (Ephesians 2:15). Unity of humanity, in Christ, was his purpose, and through this unity we can find peace. Looking at the historical context, and even today, it is important to recognize that this is s a new humanity, the Gentiles are not becoming Jews and the Jews are not becoming Gentiles. The imagery that Paul uses of a the body of Christ, the Church, the believers, as a mighty temple to the Lord at the end of chapter 2 (verses 20-22) would have definitely rocked the ancient Ephesians world. The Temple to Atremis that was here was massive, drawing people from all over the known world, it was a site of pride, power and status to the people living here, and to have the body of Christ be a temple to the one true God would have been a mind-blowing concept.

We walked the streets of the ancient city, admiring the ruins of statues, theaters, homes and many public buildings.  The wealth and prestige of this city was so evident by its beauty. We went into the Terraced Houses, a section of the city where the a group of houses were built on top of one another. These houses were stunning, Every wall would have been covered with marble or a beautiful mosaic or fresco. They are in the process of reconstructing these houses, but the sections that are reconstructed are absolutely mazing.

Near these houses, was the library of Ephesus, by far my favorite part of the site.  The library has an extremely tall front wall, that was ornately carved and had beautiful mosaic patterns. The detail and beauty was beyond compare, so amazing.

            We went off the main tourist path to the church of Mary the Mother of God. This was the location of the third ecumenical council that took place in the fourth century. Dr. Kalantzis discussed the historical context of this meeting and the debates between Syril and Nestorious on the nature of Christ. Nestorious, in the end, was found to be heretical, for his inability to see Christ as fully human and fully God, he could not see Christ being born in a manger. Nestorious was looking at the nature of Christ rationally, he was trying to logically define who God was. But the attempt to define God, is really no different than trying to control God. Syril on the other hand was looking at the mystery of God.

            We heading up a nearby hill to the Church of the Virgin Mary. This site is remember to be the house of the Virgin Mary, after she moved to Ephesus with St. John after the resurrection.  It was very peaceful up here. There weren’t a lot of tourists, there were plenty of plants, there was a view of the sea in the distance and the church was a small simple room with just an altar. We sat out in front of the church and finished our discussion on Ephesians. We mainly discussed the different ways of interpreting the 5:21-6:9, the instructions for Christian households. In this discussion we mainly looked at the historical context. These relationships, husband-wife, child-parent, slave-master, would have been the common familial relations that Paul’s whole audience would have been familiar with. One thing that I found very interesting, in verse 25, the verb, in the Greek, telling husbands to “love” their wives is a command, while in verse 22 the verb telling wives to “summit” to their husbands was the imperative. To Paul’s audience the command for husbands to love their wives would have been the most shocking part of this passage. Our discussion on this topic didn’t go into as much detail as I would have liked. I am looking forward to being able to talk to Dr. Cohick more about this topic and her understanding of this passage and similar passages. It seems as though she has a lot to say on the subject and has very strong views, that are similar to mine, that are theologically backed up. It will be very interesting and helpful t hear here talk more about this subject.

            We then when to St. John’s Basilica near the city of Ephesus. It was one of the largest and most extravagant churches of its time. Walking around the ruins, you could still get a sense of the greatness this church had. The ruins of the baptistery were still well preserved. Dr. Kalantzis told us about the different practices concerning baptism and how it changed throughout the centuries.

            We returned to Izmir for the night, and I am turning in early because my neck is still bothering me after yesterday’s travel.