Depending on our eternal God

Depending on our eternal God

As our Walking With Paul group prepares for our tour following the apostle Paul’s second missionary journey, our itinerary takes us to the historic, busy, and majestic city of Istanbul, Türkiye. We begin touring this city on May 29.

To the casual traveler, May 29 is just another day on the calendar. However, this date is an important date in Christian history as it is the anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople — now modern-day Istanbul.

For more than a thousand years, Constantinople stood as the capital of the Byzantine Empire — the Eastern Roman Empire. The city became a center of Christian faith, worship, scholarship, and influence.

On May 29, 1453, after a brutal 53-day siege, Constantinople fell to the forces of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. The Byzantine Empire ended, and a new era began.

For Christians, perhaps one of the most significant transitions was that of the Hagia Sophia. This great cathedral was constructed in 537 AD by Justinian I. For a thousand years it was the largest church building in the world. Its soaring dome, glittering mosaics, massive columns, and sheer size testified to the glory of Christian worship and the importance of faith in Byzantine life.

After the Ottoman conquest, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque. Christian symbols were covered, minarets were added, and Islamic worship began there. In the twentieth century, under the modern Turkish Republic established by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, it became a museum open to all. On July 10, 2020, the Council of Ministers revoked the museum status allowing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to designate it as a mosque in perpetuity.

As our group enters the mosque, we will still see ancient mosaics and signs of the Christian faith. Touring this grand structure on the anniversary of Constantinople’s fall provides more than a history lesson — It offers an opportunity for spiritual reflection.

As we view the beauty and history of Istanbul, and as we walk in the footsteps of Paul across Greece, we are reminded that cities rise and fall, governments change, cultures, shift, but the word of the Lord stands forever (Isaiah 40:8). Jesus stated, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

These truths are especially meaningful when we stand in places layered with centuries of history. We will be walking in places where the apostle Paul walked; places where we remember the names of people recorded in scripture; places where saints stood trial; and places where the gospel of Jesus Christ was preached for the first time. All of this reminds us that Christianity is not just a passing philosophy.

It was the apostle Paul who proclaimed, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16). After living and teaching in Corinth, he later wrote them, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

Christianity spread throughout this region — not because believers possessed great political power or because massive cathedrals were built — but because Christians proclaimed the saving message of Jesus Christ, lived for him every day, and placed their hope in a risen Savior.

I’ve often wondered what would have happened if the Holy Spirit had not prohibited Paul from going into Bithynia, would he have traveled through Byzantium — modern-day Istanbul? Would we read about the first European Christian being from that area rather than Philippi, or would he have had continued on to Philippi where he met Lydia and baptized her into Jesus Christ?

We can speculate a lot, but our dependence must be on our holy God and his holy word. Moses prayed, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:1-2).

As we journey through these historic cities and sites on our Walking With Paul tour, we learn that God’s work is not confined to one nation, language, or time period. Because of the apostle Paul and many early Christians, the gospel moved into Asia Minor, across Greece, throughout Europe, and around the world.

Christianity has survived persecution, invasions, political turmoil, and cultural change because its foundation is not in earthly power but in the risen Christ. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11).

And perhaps that is one of the greatest values of such a journey. It reminds us that while history changes constantly, God remains faithful.

— Kenneth Mills, White County Citizen, May 29, 2026