27 June 2010

It started out to be a decent weekend. A few friends were going to get together and we all had a plan to go to the beach.

Then a supervisor from the main HQ decided to take a personal dislike to a member of the team and throw a bit of a wrench into the plans. International organizations are always an interesting experience and it is not always love and roses behind door number one, two or three. There is a lot more dissention that goes on behind the scenes than many would realize. He decided we should not be allowed to take a vehicle that weekend.  So, the beach was cancelled, the supervisor earned a bit less respect for being vindictive over a minor issue and we were grounded with no wheels.

I decided that was not going to happen. However, rather than have a full blown mutiny, I went through a back door I developed a few months ago and found us another set of wheels to use. Unfortunately we were not able to keep the vehicle as long as it was needed for the initial plan – so we decided to stick close to home and do the religious tour of the Sea of Galilee. Two of the gang decided to stay home instead of come along - so I took my colleague from Austria and off we went.

The first stop was just outside Tiberias when we stopped to visit Tabgha. This is the location where Jesus is supposed to have fed the masses with bread and fish. There have been several churches built upon this site. And eventually they have all been destroyed by some means or another. Fire, earthquake, crusades and so on – they all took their toll.

Christian tradition has localized three important gospel events. The Sermon on the Mount, the multiplication of loaves of bread and fishes and the third apparition of the Risen Lord where he commissioned Peter to “Feed my lambs ... look after my sheep

This is the present church standing on the site today.

And this is the altar built over the rock Jesus shared his fish and bread from

I took this pic from the back of the room – the church is small but it is attractive. Thousands of tourists visit this place every year.

Outside is what remains of a very well preserved olive press.

Just down the road and basically on the same site is a small chapel called Peters Primacy

Sometime around 381, the Spanish pilgrim Egeria visited the area and reported that next to the Church of the Loaves and Fishes are some stone steps where the Lord stood.

Egeria does not mention a church here, but one was built on the site by the end of the 4th century. It was roughly the same size and shape as the original Church of the Loaves and Fishes and its east end enclosed a flat rock identified as the table on which Jesus offered breakfast to the disciples (John 21:9).

In the 9th century, the church is referred to as the Place of the Coals. By this time (first mentioned 808 AD), the Twelve Thrones had been placed along the shore to commemorate the Twelve Apostles. The church survived longer than any other church in the area, and was finally destroyed in 1263. The present Franciscan chapel was built on the site in 1933.

Church interior with Mensa Christi

From here we headed down the road to this picturesque Orthodox Church at Capernaum.  The church is built on the ruins of Kfar Nahum. Around the church the remains of the village have yet to be excavated. The church takes up about one third of the ruins and the entire are of ruins is about 60 dunams or 15 acres.

The inside of the church is covered in icons and art work. The altar is finished in gold and silver.

The gardens are well tended and grapes are in season. There is enough food in the gardens to support a large population.

The yards are well tended and the trees in the gardens are healthy, old and very large, The branches have all been trained and trimmed to provide a low and solid shade cover to the pilgrims.

From here we visited the village of Capernaum where Jesus is said to have lived. There are large areas that are undergoing excavation at this time.

Capernaum is an ancient fishing village on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. It is home to a celebrated Byzantine-era synagogue as well as the house where Jesus healed a paralytic and St. Peter's mother-in-law.

In the Bible Capernaum is frequently mentioned in the Gospels and was Jesus' main base during his Galilean ministry. It is referred to as Jesus' "own city" (Mt 9:1; Mk 2:1) and a place where he lived (Mt 1:13). He probably chose it simply because it was the home of his first converts, Peter and Andrew.

Now predominantly an archaeological park, Capernaum was originally a fishing village inhabited continuously from the 1st century BC to the 13th century AD. As the first town encountered by travelers on the other side of the Jordan, it was equipped with a customs office and a small garrison overseen by a centurion.

Capernaum was a Jewish village in the time of the Christ. Christian presence is attested early in Capernaum and the village was predominantly Christian by the 4th century AD. Rabbinic texts from the 4th century imply considerable tension between the Jewish and Christian communities of the town.

The synagogue of Capernaum is located just inland from the shore with its facade facing Jerusalem. It has been difficult to date, with scholarly opinion ranging from the 2nd to 5th centuries. It stands on an elevated position, was richly decorated and was built of imported white limestone, which would have contrasted dramatically with the local black basalt of the rest of the village. All of this would have given the building great beauty and status.

The day was getting long and we had to leave for supper at the Kinneret but we made one last rush trip up the hill to the Church of the Beatitudes.

Located on a small hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee near Tabgha, the Mount of Beatitudes is the traditional site of Jesus' delivery of the Sermon on the Mount, probably the most famous sermon of all time. Pilgrims have been drawn to this scenic place since at least the 4th century. 

The interior is quite small but well appointed.

The chief attraction here, though, is the setting. The cool and quiet gardens overlooking the Sea of Galilee and the landscape where Jesus conducted his ministry make an excellent place to contemplate some of the best-known Christian teachings. As you can see the views are outstanding.

We ran out of time to continue on from here – so returned to Tiberias and an awaiting supper.