Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians
in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace.
(1 Thes 1:1)
The Letters form a major portion of the Christian Scriptures, especially the letters of Saint Paul. What is remarkable is that they survived these two thousand years. They survived because the tiny community at Thessaloniki treasured this letter they had received from Saint Paul and made a copy of it, and then sent it around to all the other little communities in their area—kinda like the original chain letter! And if the other communities had received a letter they simply made a copy of it and tacked it on to the letter they had received . . . and soon various groups of letters were spreading around the Mediterranean. And of course, they have come down to us.
The picture today is of modern day Thessaloniki.
