Around Lake Kinneret - Tveria, Tabgha, Capernaum, Golan Heights. Capernaum – the city beloved of Christ Visiting the National Park

12. After this He came to Capernaum, Himself and His Mother, and His brothers, and His disciples; and they stayed there for a few days. After the miracle in Cana, Christ went to Capernaum with His Mother, His brothers (about Christ’s brothers - see interpretation on Matthew 1:25) and disciples. Why did Christ go to

16. When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea 17. And, getting into a boat, they went to the other side of the sea, to Capernaum. It was getting dark, and Jesus did not come to them. Here begins the story of Christ's miraculous walk on the sea. See the explanation clearly. on Mt. 14:22-34, and Mark. 6:46-51.

CHAPTER 22. Arrival at Capernaum. The dispute between the Apostles about which of them is greater. Instructing them about humility. We're talking about temptations. Various instructions to the Apostles. Parable about the unmerciful debtor. Payment of taxes on the temple Arrival in Capernaum It was already said above that, after the sermon about bread

12. Retirement to Galilee and settlement in Capernaum. 12. When Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, he withdrew into Galilee (Mark 1:14). When it was? It is hardly possible to determine exactly. We can only present probable considerations. It can hardly be assumed that the activity

Chapter XVI Lake Tiberias. - Bethsaida. - Genisaret. – Capernaum “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, on the seaside path, beyond the Jordan, Gentile Galilee. The people sitting in darkness have seen a great light, and to those sitting in the land and shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Matt 4:15–16) When we

When it comes to the holy places of Israel, everyone, of course, first of all thinks of Jerusalem. But Capernaum, which, by the way, is mentioned in the New Testament even more often than Jerusalem, is not immediately remembered. Meanwhile, this place is a must-see not only for tourists traveling to Israel for the purpose of religious pilgrimage, but also for all those who are interested in the events described in the Bible in a historical manner.

By the way, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky in his “Crime and Punishment” did not ignore Capernaum. As many people know, Dostoevsky’s novel is filled with biblical symbolism, so Sonechka Marmeladova (the author’s allusion to the image of Mary Magdalene) rents rooms from not just anyone, but from a tailor named Kapernaumov. Meanwhile, if we turn to the Bible, there is no evidence that Mary Magdalene lived in Capernaum; it is known for sure that she was from the neighboring town of Magdala, an ancient Galilean city where large-scale archaeological excavations are being conducted today. In Capernaum, according to the Holy Scriptures, Jesus Christ, expelled from Nazareth, found shelter.

In the photo: Capernaum archaeological park

Capernaum is located on the shores of the Kinneret, a freshwater lake in northeastern Israel. The lake is quite large, which is why in ancient times the reservoir was called the Sea of ​​Galilee, and even today, by the way, this name is still widely used. However, calling Capernaum a city is also in some way going against reality; in fact, modern Capernaum is an open-air archaeological museum and a national park in Israel. In principle, there are no residential buildings in the historical zone.

In the photo: the archaeological complex of Capernaum, the ruins of the White Synagogue

It is worth saying that Capernaum or Kfar Nahum turned into a ghost town already in the 7th century AD, when both Christians and Jews left it after the invasion of the Persians and Arabs. However, the beginning of the decline of Capernaum is usually dated back to the 5th century AD, even then the population of the city was only 1,500 people.

In the photo: column of the White Synagogue in Capernaum

But in biblical times, this small settlement by modern standards on the shores of the Sea of ​​Galilee flourished. The city was founded approximately 2,500 years ago and reached its peak by the first century AD. The fact is that Capernaum was located on the border of the state of Herod Antipas, and trade routes from the Mediterranean coast to Syria and Asia Minor passed through it, and, as you know, the location of the city on major trade routes is the shortest and most guaranteed way to increase its well-being residents.

In the photo: the ruins of the White Synagogue in Capernaum

When you enter the territory of Capernaum, the first thing you see is the impressive statue of the Apostle Peter. This is not surprising, it was he who lived here, and Christ, who later preached in the synagogue of Capernaum, found shelter in the house of the apostle’s mother-in-law, whom the Savior cured of a fever. Here in Capernaum Jesus also found other disciples: Andrew, Matthew Levi and the Zebedee brothers - James the Elder and John the Theologian.

In the photo: statue of St. Peter in Capernaum

By the way, an interesting fact - Peter is not the name of the apostle, as many are accustomed to think, but the nickname that Jesus gave to his disciple. It arose from the word Cephas, which in Aramaic means “stone”, and in modern tradition goes back to the Greek interpretation of this word - πέτρος, that is, “petros”, which, again, means “stone”. At birth, the Apostle Peter bore the name Shimos (Hebrew: שמעון‎‏‎‎), which in modern tradition corresponds to the name Simon, and the apostle was born not in Capernaum itself, but in the fishing town of Bethsaida, located right there on Lake Kinneret, in the family of a fisherman Ions.

In the photo: the church built on the site of St. Peter's house

Today, on the site of the house where, according to legend, Saint Peter lived, a Catholic church is built. It is impossible to miss it, since it is the only modern building on the territory of the archaeological zone of Capernaum. The inside of the church is as simple as possible, but it’s still worth going there to look at the ruins of an ancient octagonal Byzantine church hidden under transparent floors, however, they can be partially seen from outside the building - a modern building, made in the form of a complex geometric figure, rises above the ruins, but doesn't close them.

In the photo: the ruins of a Byzantine church built on the site of St. Peter's house

The second important attraction of Capernaum is the White Synagogue, the ruins of which can be walked freely, photographing the impressive columns. As archaeologists have found out, the building was built in the 3rd - 4th AD, that is, at least two centuries after the events described in the Bible, but, nevertheless, there is a synagogue on the ruins of an ancient building, where, if you follow tradition, he preached Christ.

In the photo: White Synagogue in Capernaum

The fact that the events described in the Bible correlate not only with tradition, but also with historical facts, is indicated by another curious object of Capernaum. The fact is that next to the White Synagogue, an attentive tourist will definitely pay attention to ancient columns and other artifacts standing separately from the building.

In the photo: the ruins of the White Synagogue in Capernaum

One of the columns, quite inconspicuous in appearance, is notable for the fact that it is engraved with the inscription “Halfi (Alpheus) Bar-Zebida (Zebida), son of Yochanan, made this column.” And here something surprising is revealed, the fact is that the surname Bar-Zevida (Zebida) is probably a Jewish analogue of the surname Zebedee, which was borne by the apostles John the Theologian and James Zebedee, so it is quite possible that the column was created by one of the descendants of the family, to which John and James belonged. By the way, John the Theologian became the only one of Christ’s apostles who lived to a ripe old age, which further confirms the theory that the master who worked on the column was involved in the family of Zebedees.

In the photo: on the right is the same column with the inscription

Although almost the entire territory of Capernaum, including the White Synagogue, today belongs to Catholics, there is also an Orthodox Greek monastery with the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles, founded in the thirties of the 20th century by the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem Damian. One of the features of the monastery is that there is only one person overseeing everything here - Irinarch from Macedonia, he graduated from the theological seminary in Jerusalem as an adult and took monastic vows. Irinarch moved to Capernaum in 1991 and, through titanic efforts, brought the desolate territory of the monastery and the church into order. Today the Greek monastery looks like a blooming garden of some ancient estate, and proud peacocks walk along its paths. The local cathedral is also very interesting. It is crowned with 12 domes (according to the number of apostles), and the domes are painted pink, which is surprising, because in Greece, according to tradition, domes are covered with blue paint.

In the photo: Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles in Capernaum

At the end of the story about Capernaum, I would like to mention the local gastronomic specialty, which is also directly related to the name of the Apostle Peter. During a trip to Capernaum, be sure to stop by one of the restaurants that are open on the shores of Lake Kinneret and order fish there, which in the scientific world is called freshwater tilapia, but in Israel it is called amnun or St. Peter's fish.

It is believed that this was the fish that Christ’s disciples caught, and there are very serious reasons to confirm this theory. The fact is that tilapia has been caught in Lake Kinneret since time immemorial, it was served on the table in Judea and Galilee, and when salted, amnun fish was even exported, it was supplied to Rome and to the provinces of the Roman Empire located in Asia Minor. These data alone are quite sufficient to suggest that it was tilapia that the apostles Peter, Andrew, James and John the Theologian caught, and also that it was this fish that Christ fed the people in the biblical episode about the miracle of the “Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes”, however, that it is tilapia that appears in the Bible indicates another curious point.

“A wonderful catch of fish”, sketch for a tapestry by Raphael Santi

The Gospel of Matthew contains the following scene. Collectors of didrachms approach Peter, who has returned to Capernaum, and ask him to give them a coin. The Apostle agrees, but Jesus, in response to Peter’s request for a coin, says to the disciple: “Go to the sea and catch a fish, and in the mouth of this fish there will be a coin statir.” This is what happens. Interestingly, the peculiarity of the tilapia fish is that it often grabs shiny objects with its mouth. They say that cases when modern residents of Israel find coins in the mouth of a fish are not uncommon, so the hypothesis that the Apostle Peter caught this particular fish in his time has more than compelling reasons. Yes, the fish tastes amazing, so don’t miss the chance to try it in one of the restaurants on Lake Kinneret, and who knows, maybe you too will find a modern shekel or an ancient statir in your mouth?

Did you like the material? Join us on facebook

Yulia Malkova- Yulia Malkova - founder of the website project. In the past, he was the editor-in-chief of the elle.ru Internet project and the editor-in-chief of the cosmo.ru website. I talk about travel for my own pleasure and the pleasure of my readers. If you are a representative of hotels or a tourism office, but we do not know each other, you can contact me by email: [email protected]

Capernaum is an ancient fishing village on the northern shore of the Sea of ​​Galilee in Israel, home to a famous Byzantine-era synagogue where Jesus performed many miracles.

Myths and facts

The Bible refers to Capernaum as the "hometown" of Jesus, probably because it was the home of his first apostles Peter, Andrew, John and James. Jesus began his sermons in the Capernaum synagogue. The people were amazed at his teaching, since he taught them as one in authority, and not as scribes...

The settlement in Capernaum existed from the 1st century BC. to the XIII century. It was a poor Jewish village that housed a customs house on the trade route from Caesarea to Damascus. Between the residential houses made of black basalt stood a white limestone synagogue. According to the Gospels, the main preaching activities of Jesus Christ took place here.

In the 2nd century, a community of Jews who converted to Christianity was formed in Capernaum. In the next century, a church was built in the city, which became a stronghold of Christianity. The temple was destroyed before the Islamic conquest in 638.

During the Crusader period, Capernaum was almost abandoned: "once a famous city... now there are only seven houses of poor fishermen."

At the end of the 19th century, the Franciscan order bought these lands. The Franciscans erected fences to protect the remains of the buildings, planted palms and eucalyptus trees to create an oasis for pilgrims, and built a small harbor. At the beginning of the 20th century, they carried out a series of excavations and restorations, opened the house of St. Peter in 1968, and in 1990 they built a modern church in its place. The unusual-looking temple, reminiscent of a spaceship, is built on pillars and has a glass floor so that visitors can still see the original church below.

On a hill at a distance, an old synagogue, presumably founded in the 2nd-5th centuries, has been restored - this is the Temple of the Twelve Apostles. The white limestone walls under the red domes contrast sharply with the rest of the village's black basalt buildings, which gives the temple a special status.

Currently, Capernaum is an Israeli national park open to the public.

What to see

The restored synagogue and church (described above) stand quite close to each other near the shore, with the ruins of 1st-6th century buildings between them. In addition, within the complex you will find many carved stones with ancient inscriptions and a new Greek Orthodox temple nearby.