Remains of what is probably the very first Christian prayer house in the world and most certainly the first in the Middle East, were discovered a few years ago at Megiddo, the New Testament’s Armageddon, which overlooks the Jezreel Valley. Megiddo, with its more than two dozen layers of ruins, tells the story of the changing face of conquest and settlement in northern Israel over thousands of years. Capitalizing on the significance of the find, plans call for the development of the site as an inspirational attraction and for Christian pilgrims and tourists interested in ancient Christian archeology. THE SEA OF GALILEE The Galilee is rich in the memories of Jesus’ ministry, and no pilgrimage journey can be considered complete without visits to the significant places where He walked and preached. When beginning a trip to explore the sites around the sea, an excellent starting point could be Capernaum - not only because this was where Jesus lived in the area and where He preached, but because it is possible to reach the site via boat, giving the visitor the experience of plying the waves of the Sea of Galilee on a boat very much resembling those in use in Jesus’ time. According to accounts in the New Testament, it was at Capernaum that Jesus selected His first disciples. One of the more interesting parts of the site is an edifice known as Peter’s House, dedicated in ancient times as a Church shrine, with early Roman graffiti still visible on the
walls. The building is run by the Franciscans, who have constructed a second layer ceiling/floor partition there and have dedicated the upper level as 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
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