a chapel, with a multi-hued altar and a part of the floor constructed of glass, to afford a view of Peter’s House on the floor below. Adjacent to Peter’s house stand the remains of a late fourth-century synagogue, constructed on the ruins of a synagogue from a much earlier period. It has been suggested by more than one scholar that it was here that Jesus prayed when He lived in Capernaum. Also at Capernaum is one of the loveliest of Sea of Galilee churches, which belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church. In almost any panoramic view of the western side of the Sea of Galilee, this charming building sticks out with its impressive crosses and red cupolas. Just south of Capernaum lies Tabgha, a corruption of the Greek word Heptagon, or “seven springs.” Two churches stand there. The first, under Benedictine control, marks the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes. The original church on the site was constructed in the middle of the fourth century AD, with its altar situated on the spot where the loaves and fishes would have been placed. The mosaics on view there, scenes rich in waterfowl, water plants, and local fauna, were rediscovered in the 1930s. They are from a later Byzantine church, built in 480 AD and destroyed by the Persians early in the seventh century. The second church at Tabgha, the Primacy of St. Peter, commemorates the event mentioned in the 21st chapter of the Book of John, of Simon Peter’s being the first to spy the resurrected Jesus as He stood and called His disciples from the opposite Sea of Galilee shores as they were casting their fishing nets. It was here, the New
Testament tells us, that Jesus instructed Peter and his colleagues, who had been unsuccessful in their fishing endeavors, to cast their nets on the other side of the boat, where they immediately hauled in a catch of 153 fish. It was also at this same time that Jesus instructed Peter to “feed my sheep.” Not far from Capernaum, and also fronting the Sea of Galilee, the Magdala Center, the newest Sea of Galilee attraction, is of particular relevance to Catholic visitors, though of interest to the general public as well, serving as a crossroads of Jewish and Christian history. It is located at Migdal, on land where archeological excavations prior to the center’s development unearthed a first-century AD synagogue where Jesus probably preached, and is being developed to offer visitors an experience of first century Judaism and Christianity in the Holy Land. The archeological park is now open, as is the facility’s “Duc in Altum” spirituality center comprising the “Atrium of the Women of the New Testament” and four chapels, including one designed for ecumenical use and another with icons, for Orthodox pilgrims. The former houses a boat-shaped altar that overlooks Magdala’s ancient harbor and the Sea of Galilee, and all the chapels have been decorated with mosaics depicting scenes from Jesus’ ministry. The center will soon include accommodations, a restaurant and an expanded archeological park. Across the road from these significant Sea of Galilee religious sites, and up a hill, is the spot which commemorates Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, at a location we know as the Mount of the Beatitudes. With its octagonal church - one
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