Capernaum was the base of Jesus’ ministry. When he left Nazareth, he moved to this fishing village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee and made it his home. It was here that he called his first disciples, Peter and Andrew, healed Peter’s mother-in-law, and performed numerous miracles. The Gospels mention Capernaum more than any other town outside Jerusalem.
Peter’s House
The most moving discovery at Capernaum is what archaeologists believe to be the house of the Apostle Peter. The building, a modest first-century dwelling, shows signs of having been converted into a house church very early in the Christian era. Graffiti scratched into the plaster walls by early pilgrims includes prayers and references to Peter. A modern octagonal church, built on stilts by the Franciscans, hovers over the ruins, allowing visitors to look down at the house through a glass floor.
The White Synagogue
The imposing white limestone synagogue that dominates the site dates to the 4th-5th century CE, but it was built on the foundations of an earlier, first-century basalt synagogue. That earlier synagogue is almost certainly the one where Jesus taught, and the contrast between the grand white building above and the dark basalt foundations below is a vivid reminder of how much changed in the centuries after Jesus’ time.
Visit with Hoshen Tours
Capernaum is the heart of any Sea of Galilee pilgrimage. Hoshen Tours combines it with Magdala, Tabgha, and the Church of the Primacy of Peter for a day along the Gospel shore.