The churches around Lake Kinneret (Sea of ​​Galilee)

We start from here - the parking lot of the church on the hill couple of hundred meters above the lake.  Overlooking the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, the mount offers enchanting views of the northern part of the lake and across to the cliffs of the Golan Heights.

First of all, about the Lake and its name.

The Sea of ​​Galilee is one of the names of Lake Kinneret - the largest freshwater reservoir in Israel. At 209 meters below sea level, it is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth.

Lake is an unusual place in many senses, Tourists and locals love to swim in its dark blue waters, and around it, there are historical sites that are a real Klondike for archaeologists. That small place has more than one name still used simultaneously (at least some of them). It is the Sea of Galilee, but also Lake Tiberias, also known as the Sea of Tiberias, Lake of Gennesaret (or Old Testament's name - Sea of Chinnereth), Lake Kinneret, and Arabic Buḥayrat Ṭabarīyā.

Before the Jewish settlement or maybe conquest, these places were occupied by other Semitic tribes that were part of the Canaanite group. In all likelihood, it was from them that the name of the lake came, at least we know that the city named Kineret (or something like that) existed here on its coast. And we know that not only from the Bible but from an external independent source - the city is mentioned in the 14th century BC Aqhat Epic of Ugarit.

In all likelihood, this name derived from the name of the ancient Ugaritic deity Kinara, who probably was the patron of the city.

After the settlement of Jews here, the new owners of these places offered their version of the origin of the name. According to them, the Kinneret comes from the word 'kinor' - a Hebrew stringed musical instrument related to the lyre, the shape of which is a bit like the outline of a lake.

Another name 'Lake of Gennesaret' was given to this reservoir by the Greeks. They renamed the Kinneret to Gennesaret. Hence the Lake of Gennesaret. The Romans also contributed to changing the name of the lake. In the 1st century A.D. e. on the west coast, the new city was founded by Herod Antipas and was named after Roman emperor Tiberius. (now the city of Tiberias). And almost immediately Lake Kinneret got the new name - 'Tiberias'.

But the most famous events that made that area known around the world happened during the period of Roman rule. Then Jesus Christ was born in Galilee, and became the founder of a new religion, spun off from Judaism. It was near the Kinneret that he began to perform his first miracles and recruit adherents of his religion. As it is told in the New Testament, in Yardenit, the place of the source of the Jordan River flowing from Kinneret toward the Dead Sea, Christ was baptized by John the Baptist. (Matthew 3: 13: 'Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John').

The beautiful church is located on top of a mountain, which offers stunning views of the Kinneret (Sea of ​​Galilee), the Golan Heights, and Galilee. According to Christian scriptures, here Jesus gave his disciples and followers the 'Sermon on the Mountain' (also called the 'Sermon of Happiness'). Here he chose 12 apostles.

A little about the history of this place. The Mount of Beatitudes is so named because it was here that Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount, in which each part of it began with the word Blessed. He immediately chose 12 apostles. (Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will have mercy. God will be seen. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'

The holy place welcomes you with a wonderful garden, a wonderful view from the mountain, and a large parking lot. From here, a view of the Lake of Gennesaret opened - it is often called the Sea of ​​Galilee, and the ancients called it Kinneret after the name of the ancient city on the northwestern shore. In the thirties, the Franciscans carried out archaeological excavations here. They found the remains of a small one-nave church of the end of the 4th century, decorated according to the custom of that time with mosaics.

The remains of adjacent buildings testified to a monastery located here, probably in Byzantine times, confirming the conjecture that this hill was traditionally revered by ancient Christians as the place of the Sermon on the Mount. The current church was built in 1937 by the Italian architect Berlucci. The church has a small hall in which there is a very unusual throne with an arch, on the walls, there are icons describing the path of Christ from birth to crucifixion. In the far part of the hall, there is a holy crucifix in a glass and marble showcase. In front of her is a bench for worshipers.

The face of Christ is turned to the Sea of ​​Galilee and Capernaum, where he lived for the last three years. In the upper part of the church, there are stained glass windows on which the eight commandments of Jesus are written in Latin. Near the entrance is an open book in which eight commandments already known to us are also written in Latin.

One of the most sacred places for pilgrims. According to Christian sources, Jesus performed a great miracle here when he managed to feed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. The church has an ancient mosaic floor that describes the marvel, fauna and flora of the Sea of ​​Galilee.

On the northwestern shore of the Kinneret are springs that create streams flowing into the lake. Since ancient times, springs have “enlivened” the valley, making it fertile and beautiful. The streams flowing into the lake attracted fish here, so fishing was developed in these places. The area was called Heptapegon - from the Greek 'seven springs'. In Arabic, the word gradually began to sound like Tabgha, now this valley is also called so in Russian.

According to Scripture, it was here that many important events described in the Gospels took place. One of them is the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes, created by Christ at seven springs on the shores of Lake Kinneret. According to the Bible, Christ then managed to feed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. On the site of this miracle, a small church was built in the fourth century, the altar of which was the very stone on which Christ placed the baskets of food. Sometime later, this church was damaged (probably by a landslide from the nearby hills) and a basilica was erected over it. This second Byzantine church was larger than the first and somewhat differently oriented to the cardinal points: its altar, unlike the first church, was directed to the east. It was in those days that the floor of the temple was decorated with the famous mosaic.

This second church was completely destroyed in 614 during a Persian attack. After that, for more than 13 centuries, only gradually disappearing ruins were located on this site. Finally, in 1932, archaeologists Mader and Schneider, during excavations, discovered old masonry with still preserved mosaics. Fortunately (and this can really be called a miracle), the mosaic has been perfectly preserved to this day. It strikes with beauty and refinement and, undoubtedly, is the main decoration of the new temple, built on this site in 1982.

Now the monks of the Benedictine abbey serve here, they also own a camp for youth groups and a boarding house for the disabled. The interior of the church is modest, perhaps it was done on purpose so as not to distract attention from the main thing in the temple: a genuine ancient mosaic from the time of early Christianity. Drawings from stones are fascinating, I want to look at them for a very long time. There are no analogs in the Holy Land, the influence of Egyptian culture is felt here: in stone patterns, there is a lotus that does not grow in the vicinity of Tabgha. According to one version, the Egyptian 'motifs' can be explained by the participation in the creation of the mosaic of Patriarch Martyria from Jerusalem, who lived in Egypt for some time. His name is found in a mosaic inscription to the left of the altar.

And under the altar itself is the main shrine of the temple - a stone on which Jesus Christ laid out five slices of bread and two fish in order to perform the miracle of multiplication and feed 5,000 men with this modest supply.

South of Tabgha is the Franciscan Church of the Primacy of St. Peter. According to Christian sources, Jesus was revealed to the disciples after the crucifixion, and here he appointed St. Peter as his first messenger. As it is written, Jesus said that Peter was blessed as this was revealed to him by God. He stated, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church'. Just to remind you, Original name of St. Peter the Apostle was Simeon or Simon. Actually, Jesus gave him the name 'Cephas', the Aramaic equivalent of Greek 'Peter' (petra, 'rock').

The ancient Christian churches all venerate Peter as a major saint and as the founder of the Church of Antioch and the Church of Rome.

Thus, in fact, Peter was the first Pope.

The St. Peter's church is built around natural stone, where, according to tradition, Jesus held a feast with his disciples. The basalt stone temple is located on the banks of the Kinneret. Soft and colorful light penetrates through its stained-glass windows. Inside is a painting of the Pope kneeling on a rock where Jesus and his messenger stood, with a wooden ship behind them.

On the shores of Lake Kinneret, which waters almost all of Israel, there are a lot of places associated with the Bible and the name of Jesus. It seems that every meter of the earth is connected with some story from the life of the Son of Man and his apostles. The Church of the Primacy of the Apostle Peter in Tabgha is no exception.. It is connected with the story of the third and last appearance of Jesus to his disciples when he shared a meal with them and proclaimed Peter his successor (first) apostle. However, this is how the Catholics think, and the dogma of the Catholic Church about the primacy of their church over other Christians is based on this. Like it or not - why judge? The main thing is that the place has been preserved and the church there stands above the rock where Christ and his disciples saw for the last time. For the first time, this place is mentioned by a Gallic nun named Egeria. In the 4th c. n. e. she visited the shores of the Kinneret ( Sea of ​​Galilee) and described the rock, revered as the place of the last meeting of Jesus with the disciples. And even then there was a small temple. The building was repeatedly destroyed, the Arabs and Persians especially distinguished themselves in this simple matter, and by the time the crusaders came here, almost nothing remained of the temple. In the 13th century, the cruel Mamluks completed the job - they razed the building to the ground. The Franciscan monks bought the land already in the 18th century, but for various reasons they did not have enough strength to restore the entire temple, they only put up the bell tower. And already in 1933 the church that we see today appeared. And she's wonderful. The architect and the Franciscan monks to whom it belongs had the taste and tact to build it very discreetly and modestly. Made of rough-hewn gray stone, simple and restrained forms, the church seems to take us back to the times of biblical events, as if she herself was from there, from the time of the life of Christ and his apostles. In the center of the church, at the very altar, is the same rock, revered by believers as a shrine. In addition to it, there is practically nothing: no sculptures characteristic of Catholic churches, no gilding, and painting, and no other furniture, and decor. What for? After all, the main thing here is the Table of Christ, which remembers Him and the apostles, and this place does not require any decoration. There are steps right on the rock, there are stones near the rock, twelve stones, it is assumed that these stones have been preserved from the former temple. This is how the connection of times is realized in the temple, the feeling that we, modern people, unfortunately, are losing. So isn't it worth it to come back here again and again, and better with an individual guide on a private tour of Israel, just to keep quiet and think about the eternal? at the very altar, the same rock, revered by believers as a shrine. In addition to it, there is practically nothing: no sculptures characteristic of Catholic churches, no gilding, and painting, and no other furniture and decor. What for? After all, the main thing here is the Table of Christ, which remembers Him and the apostles, and this place does not require any decoration. There are steps right on the rock, there are stones near the rock, twelve stones, it is assumed that these stones have been preserved from the former temple. This is how the connection of times is realized in the temple, the feeling that we, modern people, unfortunately, are losing. So isn't it worth it to come back here again and again, and better with an individual guide on a private tour of Israel, just to keep quiet and think about the eternal? at the very altar, the same rock, revered by believers as a shrine. In addition to it, there is practically nothing: no sculptures characteristic of Catholic churches, no gilding, and painting, no other furniture, and decor. What for? After all, the main thing here is the Table of Christ, which remembers Him and the apostles, and this place does not require any decoration. There are steps right in the rock, there are stones near the rock, twelve stones, it is assumed that these stones have been preserved from the former temple. This is how the connection of times is realized in the temple, the feeling that we, modern people, unfortunately, are losing. So isn't it worth it to come back here again and again, and better with an individual guide on a private tour of Israel, just to keep quiet and think about the eternal? characteristic of Catholic churches, neither gilding, and painting, nor any other decoration or decoration. What for? After all, the main thing here is the Table of Christ, which remembers Him and the apostles, and this place does not require any decoration. There are steps right on the rock, there are stones near the rock, twelve stones, it is assumed that these stones have been preserved from the former temple. This is how the connection of times is realized in the temple, the feeling that we, modern people, unfortunately, are losing. So isn't it worth it to come back here again and again, and better with an individual guide on a private tour of Israel, just to keep quiet and think about the eternal? characteristic of Catholic churches, neither gilding, and painting, nor any other decoration or decoration. What for? After all, the main thing here is the Table of Christ, which remembers Him and the apostles, and this place does not require any decoration. There are steps right on the rock, there are stones near the rock, twelve stones, it is assumed that these stones have been preserved from the former temple. This is how the connection of times is realized in the temple, the feeling that we, modern people, unfortunately, are losing. So isn't it worth it to come back here again and again, and better with an individual guide on a private tour of Israel, just to keep quiet and think about the eternal? there are stones near the rock, twelve stones, it is assumed that these stones have been preserved from the former temple. This is how the connection of times is realized in the temple, the feeling that we, modern people, unfortunately, are losing. So isn't it worth it to come back here again and again, and better with an individual guide on a private tour of Israel, just to keep quiet and think about the eternal? there are stones near the rock, twelve stones, it is assumed that these stones have been preserved from the former temple. This is how the connection of times is realized in the temple, the feeling that we, modern people, unfortunately, are losing. So isn't it worth coming back here again and again, and better with an individual guide on a private tour of Israel, just to keep quiet and think about the eternal?

And it is also important that only in this place you can approach the sacred waters of the Lake of Gennesaret, wash and even get a bottle of water to take a piece of centuries-old history with you.

The Capernaum synagogue belongs to the early Galilean type. Its ruins were discovered in 1905 thanks to the efforts of German archaeologists G. Kohl and S. Watzinger, excavated in 1921. The synagogue was restored in 1925.

It is one of the oldest synagogue buildings in the world, and it has several parts that are still well-preserved to this day!

It is built on top of an even older building, believed to be the synagogue where Jesus preached.

The floor is tiled with square tiles. Along the side, nave were stone benches. A portable case for the Torah (aron ha-kodesh), and carved Jewish religious symbols (menorah, grape leaves, bunches, fig fruits, Magen David, shofar, temple plan) were found here. On one of the columns in the center of the hall, there is an inscription in Greek: “Harodes, the son of Mokimos, and his son Justus, together with their children, erected this column.”

On another pillar, which apparently stood in the courtyard, an Aramaic inscription was found: 'Khalfu Ben-Zida Ben Yochanan made this pillar, may he be blessed.'

The architectural style and the decorated places date from the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd century A.D. However, as a result of later archaeological excavations (1960-1970), minor artifacts were found, mainly coins, which make it possible to date the synagogue to the 4th century BC

After a kilometer, the road leads to Capernaum. Not a single city - not Bethlehem, where the Lord was born, not Nazareth, who raised Him, not even St. The city of Jerusalem did not receive such an honorable name as Capernaum: 'His city,' the evangelists called it (Matthew 9:1). Christ moved here with His Mother from Nazareth, where they did not believe in Him, where He could not perform miracles.

Here in the synagogue, the Savior began his sermon: 'Repent and believe in the Gospel', concluding it with a word about the mysterious Heavenly Bread. Capernaum was at that time a kind of cultural center, a trading hub at the crossroads to Damascus and Phoenicia; a Roman garrison was kept here, the centurion of which believed in the true God and built a synagogue for the Jews; there was a 'collection house' - a place for collecting taxes, from where the publican Matthew was called to the apostle.

Here the daughter of Jairus was resurrected, Simon's mother-in-law was healed, a dry-armed man in the synagogue, a dumb possessed, a centurion's servant; a paralytic was raised up, carried through the roof, a bleeding wife was healed, two blind men were healed, and Christ performed many other miracles here.

When Christianity became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire, Christians consecrated these places and built churches on them. These churches were apparently destroyed by the Persian invasion and in time their exact site was lost. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the sites were re-identified. Some of the land in the area has been acquired by various Christian associations, and new churches have been built on the remains of the ancient ones. Tabgha, Mount of Beatitudes, and Kfar Nachum together form the 'Holy Triangle' that commemorates Jesus. The trip begins when he decided to convey his sermon to the masses of believers - on the Mount of Beatitudes.

During excavations in the area, the remains of an ancient fishing village were unearthed, including a pier and residential buildings. Among the remains is an ancient synagogue, one of the largest and most magnificent in Israel. The synagogue is built of marble and white limestone and is decorated with various Jewish symbols and plant and animal decorations. Here, according to Christian sources, Jesus delivered his sermons to the synagogue. Next to the synagogue is the house of St. Peter. Jesus lived in this house when he stayed in Capernaum. Above the remains of the house stands a modern church, where thousands of pilgrims come.

Kfar Nahum National Park, also known as the Jesus Boat Park, is located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. The park is named after the ancient village of Kfar Nahum (also known as Capernaum), which was home to the Apostle Peter and was an important center of Jewish life during the time of Jesus.

The park features a number of significant historical and religious sites, including the ancient synagogue of Kfar Nahum, which dates back to the 2nd century AD and is one of the oldest synagogues in the world. The synagogue is believed to have been built on the site of the home of Peter, who was a prominent figure in the early Christian church.

Another important site in the park is the Church of Saint Peter, which was built on the ruins of the ancient synagogue in the 5th century AD. The church is considered to be one of the oldest Christian churches in the world and is a popular pilgrimage site for Christians from around the globe.

The park also features the Jesus Boat Museum, which houses the remains of an ancient boat that was discovered on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in 1986. The boat is believed to date back to the time of Jesus and is thought to have been used by the fishermen of Kfar Nahum.

Between the embankment of Capernaum and Tabgha (near the church of the Gospel of St. Peter), there is a staircase leading to the shore of the Sea of ​​Galilee. If it weren't for the cars parked there, it would be impossible to guess that the stairs would lead to Ein Eyov - a hidden waterfall.

The staircase descends through the northern fence of the monastery of St. Peter, at the top you have to turn right and you will immediately see the waterfall.

The waterfall is named after the biblical character Job, who is the central figure of the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible. According to tradition, Job lived in the area and the spring and waterfall were created as a result of his trials and sufferings.

Other Jewish sources say that Job's school was in Tiberias.

An ancient Arabic source states that Job (Eyov) was bathed in the water of a waterfall in order to recover from the heat that the devil had hit him with. 

And here, on the shores of a beautiful lake, at the place where shrines, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions unite, we complete our trip.