Jesus came to this place after he was expelled from Nazareth. The city of Capernaum knows Jesus very well, so that the surname of this city has become «the city of Jesus». That's when Christianity started spreading. For the whole time he lived in Capernaum, in the house of Seth Peter his disciple. Jesus worked there for three years in which he performed many miracles, including the healing of Peter's mother-in-law gained fans and taught the believers in the synagogue. The significance of the site lies in the correspondence between written sources and archeological evidence.

Capernaum National Park

The Capernahum national park consists of two major sites. The first is Peter's mother-in-law's home where Jesus lived during his years at Capernaum. It is a square structure that is part of additional residential buildings that served as a place of worship according to the evidence found and dated to the time of Jesus. In the 5th century an octagonal church was built above it. Beginning in 1990, Franciscan believers came here to build a larger, octagonal church above the remains, from which the original remains can be seen using glass.

Another important location that can be seen is the old white synagogue. The building dates from the 5th century and is built on a building older of the era of Jesus. The synagogue is quite impressive with rows of columns and pews. Numerous decorations were found in the synagogue and brought to the archeological garden in the site entrance. The decorations have Jewish features, including a lamp with seven branches, a shofar symbol and a casket relief that can symbolize the Ark of the Covenant. Some say that the synagogue built many years after the time of Jesus was built by Christian believers who sought a tangible synagogue to visit and the archaeological finds would not provide for them. The synagogue is called the white synagogue because it is made of limestone contrary to the local basalt black stone. It is regarded as one of the most beautiful synagogues in the Galilean region.

Basic Information

Church name The House and Church of Saint Peter in Capernaum (Kfar Naum)

Address: Kfar Nahum, National park

Map

Christian order: Roman Catholic.

The construction year is 1990.

Important History

One interesting and important find is that of a room with white plaster and geometric patterns and colored flowers that is different from other rooms found. It is thought that the first Christians gathered there. Inscriptions were found on 3rd century plaster fragments in Greek, Armenian, Latin and Syria with titles of Jesus such as "Our Lord" and "Christian". These remains reinforce a statement that the building was linked to a Christian worship, attributed to the home of Simon Peter. Around a fixing wall whose center is a special piece for Stone with painted plaster walls. Later an octagonal church was erected above ancient mosaic.

Arrival options

Logistic Information

Accessibility: According to the official website, the site is not fully accessible for wheelchairs.

There are entry fees to this site that is part of Israel; National Parks.

Telephone number 972-(0)4-67932865.

Hours of operation, the site is closed to enter 1 hour prior to the stated closing time.

Sunday-Thursday 08:00-16:00. During the holidays and on Friday from 08:00 to 13:00 in summer and from 08:00 to 15:00 in winter.

Toilet: Available and adapted for wheelchairs.

Nearby site activities

As Jesus was active in the Sea of Galilee region, you can easily continue to other nearby churches such as the Mount Beatitudes Church and Tabgha Loaves and Fish.

Site explaining My experience

It is a great site to read a text about Jesus and his apostles and mention the miracle Jesus did by healing Peter's mother-in-law. In addition, you can pray outside without any booking a head or.

reserve a place for a mass or a gathering for a  pray through the custodia website:

https://www.custodia.org/en/sanctuaries/capernaum