Divinity students, faculty trace early church history on Spring Break trip to Italy

A group of 45 Liberty University students, faculty, and friends traveled to Italy March 12-22 to study church history and experience the vibrant culture of modern-day Italy.

From the Coliseum and Galleria dell ’Accademia (site of Michelangelo’s statue of David) to Mamertine Prison, the ruins of Pompeii, and more, participants spent the 10-day trip visiting numerous key historical and biblical sites. Some students earned course credit for the trip, and others chose to attend solely for personal growth and the experience. The trip, facilitated by the LU Send office and the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, coincided with Liberty’s Spring Break.

“Being able to see such significant sights with Liberty has been one of life’s greatest blessings thus far,” said global and intercultural engagement sophomore Alina Polevoy. “Learning about these biblical and historical sights goes from theory to personal knowledge. It makes the Bible that much more real. It is not just stories we read about but actual places with real evidence of what happened. It bridges that gap we might draw in our minds between the people of the Bible and us today.”

Liberty University Theological Seminary Professor Dr. Kevin King, who helped organize and lead the trip, said the trip was a chance to “step back in time” and see history in an entirely new light.

“We are looking at how the church developed its anthropological (study of human life), soteriological (doctrine on salvation), and ecclesiological (Church structure and mission) positions coming out of the patristic church through the Middle Ages, into the Renaissance, leading into the Reformation, and into the modern period,” King said. “In terms of cultural experience and cultural engagement, we’re trying to be good Kingdom citizens in the world. We are trying to get people to think theologically, philosophically, and culturally about how the Church has answered the questions of ‘How do I relate to God? How do I know I can have peace with God? What is the role of the church?’ Those are big-ticket items.”

Liberty’s team included students from a wide variety of backgrounds, with representatives from the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels. One student on the trip was over 70 years old.

School of Divinity Online Chair Dr. John Cartwright, who also helped lead the trip, said providing students opportunities to experience the world while at Liberty furthers the university’s overall mission.

“The university is a broad spectrum of academic interests, but the one thing that unites us all is that we’re Training Champions for Christ. Regardless of their vocational calling, we want them to be able to live out their biblical worldview. Taking students across the world gives them a big Kingdom picture of the world we live in.”

For Umeitia Brown, who earned her bachelor’s in biblical and theological studies through Liberty University Online Programs in December, the trip was an opportunity to experience the biblical narrative in a way she hadn’t before. She specifically enjoyed visiting Mamertine Prison, the site where the Apostle Paul is believed to have written 2 Timothy and spent the remaining days of his life before execution by the Roman government.

“Seeing how small the Mamertine Prison was and being able to see how Paul was still so encouraging from that little dark cell (was fascinating). While we were there, we were able to see the hole they would have dropped him down. That would have probably been the only hole he had for light. Even in the small area, in the dark, he was still able to pen a lot of books and letters to the Church and send them out.”

Many online students joined her on the trip.

“It was nice to actually meet the people who are in my classes,” Brown said. ‘Although there were some mixed degrees there, there were a few people who were studying the same degree as me. It was nice to be able to put a face to the person, as well as meet staff and faculty that you talk with pretty much every day of the semester.”

“Being able to grow and learn with other Liberty students provided such a rich and edifying experience as everyone conversed with one another,” Polevoy added. “The professors brought such enrichment to every sight by not only mentioning the significance of it but how we can use what we learn to grow spiritually. I loved that I could learn not only from a book but by experience.”

The School of Divinity offers multiple international trips each academic year. In September, the school will partner with the School of Education to lead a trip to Rwanda where students will serve alongside local churches while experiencing the country’s rich culture.

“Educational exploration can often lead to educational enrichment,” King said. “For me, looking at a place that I’ve gone to several times, but seeing it through the eyes of people who are there for the first time, is something I still enjoy. It’s like introducing a new friend to an old friend.”