7-day pilgrimage tour Holy Land 16/08/2011

Day 1: 16/8/2011
Church of Saint Elisha the Prophet-Mount of Temptation
Following passport control we will take a flight to Tel Aviv. Arrival. We will board the bus and be transferred to Jericho. We will visit the Church of Prophet Elisha the Prophet, where we will see Zacchaeus’ sycamore. This will be followed by a pilgrimage at Mount of Temptation, where Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting, located to the southwest of Jericho (Monastery of Temptation). We will then check-in to our hotel in Jericho, have dinner and spend the night.

Day 2: 17/8/2011
Desert of Jordan –Saint George of Chozeba- Saint Jerome of Jordan – Actual Baptism Site of Jesus Christ -Samaria
Following breakfast, we will depart for the Orthodox Monasteries in the Desert of Jordan, starting off with the Holy Monastery of St George of Chozeba. We will also visit the Holy Monastery of St Jerome of Jordan, who is depicted with a lion, one of the greatest spiritual forms of the ascetic life of the Holy Land. We will then go to the River of Jordan, the actual place where Jesus was baptised. We will continue onto Samaria, where we will visit the Church of St Fotini, where Jacob’s Well is located, namely the well where Christ met Samaritan on His way to Jerusalem from Galilee. We will also pilgrimage the relics of St. Philoumenos, who was officially glorified on the 29 November 2009. Return to our hotel. Dinner. Overnight stay.

Day 3: 18/8/2011
Nazareth -Cana-Tiberias -Mount Beatitudes -Jordan-Mount Tabor (TRANSFIGURATION OF CHRIST).
Following breakfast, we will depart for Nazareth, where we will visit the Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. In Nazareth we will find the home in which the Virgin Mary lived and Joseph’s workshop.
We will continue with a pilgrimage at Cana, where Christ performed His first miracle, the conversion of water to wine and the blessing of marriage.
We will then go on to the Holy Church of Holy Apostles at Lake Tiberias at Capernaum, which is the only natural reservoir in the region. We will also visit Mount Beatitudes and the city of Tiberias, where we will pilgrimage at Church of Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and St Magdalene. The pilgrims will then participate in a symbolic baptism and be sprinkled with Holy Water at the river of Jordan. We will be transferred to our hotel in Nazareth and have dinner. We will depart at 21:30 for Tabor, where we will participate in the Mass of the Transfiguration of Christ, which will begin at approximately 22:30. Return to our hotel. Overnight stay.

Day 4: 19/8/2011
Bethlehem –Monastery of Saint Savvas -Monastery of Saint Theodosius-Monastery of the Holy Cross- Gethsemane – Tomb of the Virgin Mary
Following breakfast, we will be transferred to Bethlehem, where we will visit Church of the Nativity and pilgrimage at Christ’s birthplace as well as at the Cave of infants massacred by Herod. We will also visit the Holy pilgrimage at the Village of the Shepherds, the Holy Monastery of St Theodosius of Cenobiarch and the Holy Monastery of the glorified St Savvas at the desert of Judea, where we will pilgrimage his full-bodied relics. On our return to Jerusalem, we will visit the Holy Monastery of the Holy Cross and continue onto Gethsemane, where we will visit the Garden of Agony and we will pilgrimage at the Tomb of the Virgin Mary. Here we will also find the chapels with the bones of Joseph, the husband of Mary as well as those of the Sts Joakim and Anne (parents of the Virgin Mary). We will visit the tomb of David and the home of St John. Check-in at the hotel in Jerusalem, dinner, overnight stay.