Holy Land Essentials

In the footsteps of the Lord

The Essentials pilgrimage is the widest door into our Holy Land catalog. Eight unhurried days across two bases, three nights in a centrally located four-star hotel beside the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem and four in Jerusalem, with the desert lavras of the Judean wilderness between them, the journey every Orthodox Christian hopes one day to make.

You will pray at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the Patriarchate of Jerusalem keeps watch over the place of the Resurrection. You will descend into the Grotto of the Nativity in the quiet of the morning, because Bethlehem is your home in the first days, walk the Way of the Cross, renew your baptism at the Jordan, and stand among the desert monasteries that have prayed without ceasing for fifteen centuries.

Each open departure gathers Orthodox Christians from many parishes and cities across the United States and Canada into one company of pilgrims. Many departures are accompanied by a visiting Orthodox priest serving as chaplain. The fellowship of the faithful is the part of every pilgrimage that is always delivered.