REFORMATION HERITAGE PILGRIMAGE Featuring the Passion Play of Oberammergau August 8 – 20, 2022 Visiting RHINE VALLEY • EISENACH • ERFURT EISLEBEN • WITTENBERG BERLIN • DRESDEN • PRAGUE NEUSCHWANSTEIN • MUNICH Hosted By THE REV. REAGAN COCKE, VICE RECTOR, ST. JOHN THE DIVINE $5211 PER PERSON FROM HOUSTON (Air/land tour price is $4631 plus $580 government taxes/airline surcharges) ST. JOHN THE DIVINE 13 DAYS OF REFORMATION PILGRIMAGE Tour Features: • Round trip airfare from Houston • Most meals • Accommodations at fi rst class/select hotels • Comprehensive sightseeing throughout with a based on two persons sharing in twin-bedded professional English- speaking tour director rooms with private bath (hotels & guest houses • All hotel service charges, value added taxes, are used in the Oberammergau area) porterage where avail- able and entrance fees • First Class (Category 1) admission ticket to the per itinerary Passion Play of Oberammergau • Transfers by private motorcoach Fellow pilgrims – Valley, we’ll visit the university town of Mainz and the Gutenberg Museum. From there, we’ll visit Eisenach and Every year during Holy see the Wartburg Castle in which Luther was imprisoned Week we recreate the in 1521-22, before an overnight in Erfurt, the home of Passion of Jesus Christ an Augustinian monastery. In Eisleben, we’ll see the through dramatic locations of Luther’s birth and death before continuing readings, the Stations to Wittenberg for an over-night and tour of the Castle of the Cross, and our Church where Luther’s 95 Theses were nailed on the Easter celebration church door and where Luther was later buried. of the empty tomb. However, We will spend two nights in Berlin with a guided The Rev. Reagan Cocke every ten years in overview tour of the city and plenty of free time for Oberammergau, a small Bavarian village in southern personal or group exploration before traveling for an Germany, they recreate the Passion of Christ in a way overnight in the beautiful city of Dresden, where we that is unmatched anywhere else. will explore the rebuilt cathedral that was destroyed during the Second World War. Beginning in 1634 as a way to thank God for sparing their town from the plague, the villagers of We will briefl y leave Germany for two nights in Prague, Oberammergau began a tradition of reenacting the and we will have both guided tours of the historic town Passion of Christ at least every 10 years. Hundreds of and free time for personal exploration and relaxation villagers in authentic costumes recreate the events of before we head towards our ultimate destination and Holy Week on an open air stage with scenic mountains two nights in Oberammergau. The morning of the in the background. The audience, watching from Passion Play, we’ll have plenty of time to explore the comfortable seats under roof, cannot help but sing town and visit the many woodcarving shops before hosannas during the entry into Jerusalem, imagine settling into our seats for the late afternoon portion of themselves seated at table during the last supper, sit the play. During intermission, we’ll enjoy dinner at a passively as the crowd yells for crucifi xion, weep with local restaurant or boarding house before returning to Mary at the foot of the cross, and rejoice with the the theater for the remainder of the play. disciples upon encountering the risen Lord and Savior. The next morning, we’ll depart Oberammergau and Our Pilgrimage to Oberammergau will begin before visit some Bavarian highlights, such as the fairy tale our August 2020 departure as the group forms and we Neuschwanstein Castle, before traveling to Munich and prepare to grow, learn, and worship together. Upon our farewell dinner before returning home. All along leaving Houston, we will spend several days in central our pilgrimage, we will build in time for corporate and northern Germany learning about the roots of the fellowship, teaching, and worship. protestant reformation in the cities where Martin Luther Prayerfully consider joining us on this extraordinary lived, worked and worshiped 500 years ago. pilgrimage! Upon arrival in Frankfurt and overnighting in the Rhine Blessings, Reagan + 2 AUGUST 8 – 20, 2022 • sjd.org/pilgrimages ST. JOHN THE DIVINE 13 DAYS OF REFORMATION PILGRIMAGE ITINERARY Day 1: Monday, August 8 the New Testament, and Richard Wagner, inspired Houston/Across the Atlantic by the Thuringian scenery, wrote the opera, “Tannhauser.” See Luther’s study, the Reformation Depart today from Houston aboard our room and the lovely paintings by Lucas Cranach transatlantic fl ight to Frankfurt, arriving the the Elder. Also worth viewing is the impressive following day. “Angel with Candlestick,” painted by Tilman Rie- menschneider in 1500. In the city, visit the Luther Day 2: Tuesday, August 9 House and make a brief stop at St. George Church Arrive Frankfurt/Rhine Valley where Luther preached. Drive to Erfurt. (B, D) Arrive in Frankfurt today where the foreign portion of our pilgrimage begins. Have a brief orientation tour of Mainz which boasts beautiful views of the Rhine and is perhaps most famous as the home of the invention of the moveable-type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg. Here, in 1455, Gutenberg produced what is considered to be the fi rst book ever printed: a Latin language Bible. Continue to our hotel in the Rhine Valley. (D) Day 3: Wednesday, August 10 Rhine Valley/Eisenach/Erfurt Cross into eastern Germany and drive to Eisenach, Luther’s birthplace. a refuge for Martin Luther during the stormy days before the Reformation. Visit Wartburg Castle, set on a mountaintop overlooking the city and Day 4: Thursday, August 11 one of the best-preserved German medieval Erfurt/Eisleben/Wittenberg fortresses. Here Luther worked on a translation of Luther called Erfurt, located in the heart of Thuringia, “a new Bethlehem.” It was here on July 2, 1505, that he was struck down by lightning, made his vow to become a monk, and entered the Augustinian Cloister. Visit the Augustiner Church and the Augustinian Monastery. On an orientation tour, view the beautiful St. Severus Church, the 650-year-old Kraemer Bridge lined with houses and small shops, and St. Mary’s Cathedral where Luther was ordained. Drive to Eisleben. Visit Luther’s birthplace, the house where he died in 1546 and 15th century St. Peter and Paul’s Church where he was baptized. Proceed to Wittenberg, the city where Luther’s activities reached a high point. Wartburg Castle (B, D) AUGUST 8 – 20, 2022 • sjd.org/pilgrimages 3 ST. JOHN THE DIVINE 13 DAYS OF REFORMATION PILGRIMAGE Day 5: Friday, August 12 Wittenberg/Berlin As a professor of philosophy and theology at Wittenberg University, Martin Luther made his public appearance by nailing his 95 Theses against the misuse of the indulgence system to the door of the Castle Church, sparking the Reformation movement. Visit the Castle Church, see the Luther Monument in the marketplace, Luther’s grave and the City Church of St. Mary where Luther did most of his preaching. Also visit Lutherhalle, his dwelling in the Augusteum, which is now a museum of Reformation history containing an Dresden unsurpassed collection of Reformation artifacts. Drive to historic Berlin. (B, D) Day 7: Sunday, August 14 Berlin/Dresden Day 6: Saturday, August 13 After an early morning worship service in our Berlin hotel, depart Berlin. Travel south through the German countryside to Dresden, capital city of This morning visit reunited Berlin. In the former the Free State of Saxony and renowned center for West, see Charlottenburg Castle, Kaiser Wilhelm fi ne art and world-class porcelain. Dating from the Memorial Church, the famous Kurfurstendamm, 12th Century, Dresden is a stunningly beautiful Bellevue Castle, the Cultural Forum and the city, sitting majestically astride the stately waters Reichstag Building. In former Eastern Berlin, see of the River Elbe. Though destroyed by the allied the Brandenburg Gate at the end of beautiful bombings of 1945, many of the fi ne Renaissance, Unter Den Linden Boulevard, Gendarmen Markt, Baroque and Classical buildings have been the Berlin Cathedral, Alexanderplatz, the Nikolai wonderfully restored in recent years, returning the Quarter, and the remains of the Berlin Wall. city to its stunning former glory as “The Jewel Box” Afternoon and evening free. (B) of Europe. Overnight in Dresden. (B) Day 8: Monday, August 15 Dresden/Prague Enjoy an orientation tour of the beautiful Dresden, see the Semper Opera House, Zwinger Palace, and The Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche), one of Germany’s most amazing post-WW2 reconstructions. Afterwards, our journey continues as we cross the Czech border driving through the verdant farmlands of Bohemia to historic, 1,000 year old Prague on the Vltava River. (B, D) Charlottenburg Palace 4 AUGUST 8 – 20, 2022 • sjd.org/pilgrimages ST. JOHN THE DIVINE 13 DAYS OF REFORMATION PILGRIMAGE Day 9: Tuesday, August 16 In keeping with their 387-year old promise, the Prague villagers of Oberammergau present their Passion Play depicting the last week of the life of Christ. This morning we experience the 1000 years of The play’s presentation can be traced to 1633 Prague’s history with a visit to Hradcany Castle, when the Black Plague swept Europe. The people the seat of power for several Czech princes and of Oberammergau took a solemn oath: if God kings. Proceed to the Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral, spared them, they would present a day-long play the Romanesque Basilica of St. George and Mala depicting the last week in the life of Christ. To this Strana (Lesser Town), whose winding streets are day they have kept their promise and every ten lined with small taverns and old houses. Continue years the citizens of Oberammergau perform their to Old Town to see the ancient Town Hall with its passion play with the same love and devotion they animated astronomical clock.