Your spiritual pilgrimage begins as you depart on your overnight flight to Tel Aviv. Meals and refreshments will be served aloft.

After arrival in Tel Aviv, you will be met by your Educational Opportunities representative who will be with you during your stay in the Holy Land. Transfer to your hotel in Jerusalem.

Travel to Bethlehem. Above the traditional Grotto of Jesus’ birth, visit the Nativity Church. Tour the manger. Behold the fourteen-pointed star that bears the inscription: “Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary.” Of the fifteen lamps burning around the recess, five belong to the Armenians. See the two altars that belong to the Armenians. One is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and the other is known as the Altar of the Kings. Visit the Armenian Monastery, most of which dates from the Byzantine and Crusader periods. The roof of the monastery offers a unique panoramic view of Bethlehem and its terraced environs.

Complex. View Armenian manuscripts in the chapel of St. Toros. Visit the recently renovated and reopened Edward and Helen Mardigian Museum in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem and see the newly transferred 6th-century Armenian Mosaic of Birds. This brilliantly colored and delicate mosaic floor is thought to be one of the first monuments to the Unknown Soldier.

This morning, drive to the top of the Mount of Olives for a spectacular view of Jerusalem. Visit the Church of Pater Noster (commemorating the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father”), the Chapel of Ascension (commemorating the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven), and the Russian Ascension Church, where you will see Armenian Mosaics from the Byzantine period. Proceed to the Chapel of Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem and foretold its complete destruction. On to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations, which commemorates the Agony in the Garden. Visit the Church of the Virgin Mary and the Tomb of Our Lady, where the Virgin Mary is believed to have laid before her Assumption. Visit the Church of Pentecost and the Tomb of King David.

Today, you will visit the sights around the Sea of Galilee. On the way to Galilee, see the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized, and have the opportunity to venture into the water. You will then go to Galilee and visit the Church of the Beatitudes, the traditional site of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Enjoy time for meditation and prayer in the tranquil site with its breathtaking view of the Sea of Galilee. Walk down the hill to Tabgha, the traditional place of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. Enjoy an included fish lunch and take a memorable boat ride across the Sea of Galilee. This afternoon, drive to Cana of Galilee, where our Lord performed the first miracle - changing water into wine at the wedding feast, and then continue to Mount Tabor to see the site of the Transfiguration of Jesus. Finally, visit the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, which is St. Mary’s home and where the angel Gabriel announced that she would become the Mother of God. Return to Jerusalem.

Attend Divine Liturgy at St. James Cathedral. Have a delicious lunch at Bulghourgi Armenian Restaurant (not included). In the afternoon, attend the Antasdan service at St. James Cathedral.

Explore the Old City. Depart for the Western (Wailing) Wall (The Jewish Holy site) near the Dome of The Rock (The Muslim Holy site). Enter into the Old City through St. Stephen’s Gate. View the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus cured the paralytic who had been ill for 38 years and visit the Church of St. Anne. Continue to walk in Christ’s footsteps along the Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross). Proceed through the exotic Arab bazaar and winding cobblestone streets to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is the most venerated shrine in Christendom, and the center of Christian worship in Jerusalem. See the Stone of Unction, Golgotha – the site where Christ was crucified, the Armenian Gallery (Vernadoon), the 12th-century Armenian Chapel of Helena, its rock walls covered with crosses scratched by medieval pilgrims, and where the Cross of Christ was discovered. Finally, visit the Tomb of Christ.

Enjoy a free day in Jerusalem and a special farewell dinner this evening.