lake of tiberias - ilivetotravel's travel log

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Magdala, hometown Mary Magdalene, peregrinaje tierra santa, holy site israel, Sea of Galilee, holy land pilgrimage,

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).

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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.

St. Peter holds a special place in the Catholic Church as the chosen apostle to lead Christ’s church. The main church in Christendom, St. Peter’s Basilica, is understandably named after him. So it is no surprise that, during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, one would run into a few churches also named after him! I visited two such churches in Galilee. In this first of two posts, I will share about St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Tiberias, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (which is technically a lake but its waves can be so strong, it resembles a sea – I am told), also called Lake of Tiberias.

St. Peter Catholic Church in Tiberias Israel in the Holy Land — St. Peter standing guard

About the town of Tiberias

Tiberias is an old town built by Herod Antipas in AD 20 to honor (or, suck up to?) the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Though not initially appealing to the Jewish population of the land, eventually the city became a center of Jewish life over the centuries to the point that it is one of the four holy cities of Judaism in the Holy Land.

Tiberias’ population runs about 40,000 people and it is sort of a resort town (with even party boats!). It also sits at 200m below sea level.

History of St. Peter’s Church in Tiberias

The church dates to the 1100s when the Crusaders built it. It did not stay long in Christian hands as the Muslims took it over less than 100 years later and converted it to a mosque. As the centuries passed, Christians would go from Nazareth to visit the site (paying the Muslims, of course). Eventually, as happened over the centuries across the Holy Land, the Western Christian Church (before any split had occurred) started acquiring sites deemed holy.

It is important to share that at the time of the construction of the church there was the Western Christian Church and the Eastern Christian Church (as of the great schism of 1054). The Western Christian Church is the Catholic Church which had a few “spin-offs” during the Reformation and after.

Back to the story… So in the 18th century, the Franciscans (official custodians of holy sites and sanctuaries in the Holy Land from the Western Christian Church) bought the property and later built the complex around it as a monastery.

St. Peter’s Catholic Church Today

Today, the church is in a Franciscan complex which also hosts a pilgrim’s house called Casa Nova. Casa Nova has 25 rooms (basic but with good A/C!) and has an inner courtyard where the church sits. Besides this one in Tiberias, there are other Casa Novas in the Holy Land. I stayed 5 nights at the one in Bethlehem which is a jewel as it stands right next to the Church of the Nativity.

The church structure is not visible from street level due to the complex walls. From the lakeshore, one can see the back of the church and the identification of the structure as St. Peter Catholic Church.

Interestingly, the church is in the shape of a ship as St. Peter was a fisherman before becoming a follower of Christ. Its website says: “It symbolizes the Church of Christ resisting storms according to the divine promise that “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16,18).“

The interior of St. Peter’s Catholic Church

The interior is simply but powerful in evoking the story of St. Peter: the miracle of the catch of fish, his naming as first among the Apostles, his building of the church of Rome, and his martyrdom.

St. Peter Catholic Church in Tiberias Israel in the Holy Land, holy water — Holy water bowl

I found it unusual among the holy sites and sanctuaries I visited over the 10 day pilgrimage. It was only really visited by the people staying at Casa Nova (perhaps a few others?) allowing respite from the crowds of pilgrims and tourists. This allowed for the right environment to sit quietly in prayer and thanksgiving.