5th June - Nicopolis

Titus 3:12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 

So we find ourselves in Nicopolis.  As much as it might have its attractions we will not be overwintering here. There is dispute about the authorship of the Letter to Titus. In grammar and structure it is a different style from Paul’s other letters. According to the letter it would seem Paul was not in Nicopolis when he wrote to Titus, and it is possible that he never reached there. 

A visit to Nicopolis does not tie in with Paul’s Modus Operandi of starting in the synagogue and then moving out into the city.  Interestingly The Jewish historic  records for the the period show no record of a Jewish community in Nicopolis. 

Nicopolis also does not sit between the places we do know Paul visitied.  It is well of the Via Egnatia, In fact it sits on the western coastal route most likely to be used by those coming from Rome and landing at the  western end of the VE.  Any route from Thessalonica to Nicopolis would involve crossing the Pindos mountains (Triaptamia & Kastraki-Preveza)   The Guide book describes the area today as a wilderness where bear and wolf may be found. We can well believe it. The roads were severe (one was unmade) the drops were steep and the rivers that cut through the mountains were often thin silvery lines hundreds of meters below.  We did not see wolves or bears, we did however see cows! It somehow seems unlikely Paul would have travelled over the mountains to get to Nicopolis.  On visiting Nicopolis it was noticeable that there was no “Pauline history” or folklore. We found no “stone where Paul stood”  or “hole that Paul slept in”  What we did find was that the Bishop of Nicopolis not only built 3 Basilicas (none dedicated to St Paul) but also had very fine views from his garden, but of course that was some 300 years on from Paul.  Did Paul visit Nicopolis? It seems unlikely.  Did he write the letter to Titus? scholars continue to disagree, however, as with all the Pauline and pseudo Pauline epistles.  It is not the authorship that is relevant but the content and the teaching.