Ten miles north of the town of Tiberias along the Sea of Galilee is the town of Capernaum. Capernaum is sort of the northwest quadrant of the lake/sea. All around Capernaum are important religious and historical sites that merit a couple of days to visit. Exploring Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee is a key part of any pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and so it was for mine.

St. Peter’s Church and House

In an earlier post, I said I would write about two churches of St. Peter; the one in that post, right in the town of Tiberias. This post will cover the second one: in Capernaum.

Capernaum seems to have been established a couple of centuries before Christ and have disappeared around the 11th century AD. Quite possibly, Capernaum is best known for being the town where St. Peter lived before he was called to follow Jesus and for some time after that. Even Jesus himself stayed at that house for a period of time!

Today, the ruins of what was Peter’s home are covered by the modern Church of St. Peter that has been built over those ruins as churches have for centuries. Clearly, the house was known to be that of one of Jesus’ disciples and key Apostle. One can easily imagine that those who were their followers preserved that memory and passed it down generations.

In all likelihood, maybe a shrine or small church probably helped protect the ruins initially. Later, point a Byzantine church was built on the site; those ruins are still also noticeable. The Byzantine church was probably hexagonal and that is seen in the ruins as it surrounds a more square/rectangular smaller structure that was Peter’s home.

In the top photo above, right off the top middle, you can see the walls of Peter’s house; the larger, outer wall (with a diagonal) is the base of the Byzantine church built on the site of Peter’s house.

The cool thing about the modern-day Church of St. Peter is that it has a glass floor at its center, protected by a barrier, so the faithful (and the curious…) can stand above, and reflect or say a prayer looking down at the structure. We were fortunate to have had a private Mass said there by the Franciscan priest leading our pilgrimage. Very special.

Other ruins in Capernaum

Beyond the church and the ruins of the home, more ruins of the town of Capernaum are exposed. Those ruins include the synagogue that stood there at the time of Peter. Of course, over those early centuries the synagogue also got built up or re-built so the “layers” are visible in the synagogue’s ruins.

It is mind-boggling to see homes, alleys and a synagogue that, not only Peter, but also Jesus, were…

Mount of the Beatitudes

Very close to Capernaum is the Mount of the Beatitudes, where Jesus gave one of the most beautiful sermons I know. The site has a not-that-old church built at the top and it offers beautiful walking grounds and gardens with a commanding view of the Sea of Galilee.

Magdala, Mary Magdalene’s hometown

The current town of Migdal is the “heir” to Magdala, the town made famous by Mary Magdalene. The original Magdala is a little bit away from its modern counterpart. It is currently an archeological site being investigated and operated by the Franciscan order. It is not currently open to the public as the site is not ready but should be in the near future.

Tabgha – Primacy of Peter, Multiplication of Fishes

Another site close to Capernaum (south of it) is Tabgha. This area is both where Jesus did one of the multiplication of fish miracles and also where Jesus made Peter first among his apostles. The latter is commemorated by a small church right at the edge of the Sea of Galilee. The church has a “mensa Christi” (table of Christ) which is a rock that Jesus used to lay out a meal for the Apostles as he asked them to “feed his sheep”.. That rock is housed by the small church (the current one dating from 1933).

Fun fact from my exploring Capernaum and the other sites…

We drove around the northern half (or so) of the Sea of Galilee. That means we were less than 56 miles from Damascus, Syria. Also it means we entered the lower part of the Golan Heights, territory Israel took from Syria after winning a war between the two countries.