The inaugural Theology departmental trip to Greece was a great success. Our Theology students absolutely fell in love with this little country, steeped in philosophical enquiry, early Christian tradition and deep historical and cultural expressions.  The twenty-five young people were a credit to Loreto with their excellent behaviour, positive attitudes and genuine enthusiasm for learning.

We managed to squeeze much into the week’s schedule, including visiting historical, philosophical and religious sites, such as the Acropolis, Plato’s Academy, Aristotle’s Lyceum and the Temple of Poseidon. We also managed to find time for visiting a theme park, bowling and lots of souvenir shopping!

Students gained a unique insight into the environment that gave rise to philosophies of the great Greek thinkers, Aristotle and Plato.  We also visited ancient Corinth and the Agora in Athens, following the journeys of St. Paul the Apostle, all places included in the New Testament. We saw the differences between Western and Eastern Christianity by our visits to the Byzantine Museum and some churches.

The development of Christianity from the first centuries to the schism between Catholicism and Orthodoxy was made clearer to students by visiting significant sites and witnessing the different traditions first hand. As one of our students said: “I finally get it!”