Archaeologists Claim To Have Discovered The Birthplace of St. Peter- The First Pope Of The Christian Church, At The Sea Of Galilee

Scholars may have discovered an inscription marking the Church of the Apostles, which is said to be in Bethsaida, St. Peter’s birthplace. Archaeologists in Israel have found an ancient inscription that states a church was built in honor of St. Peter. There is evidence that the church may have been built on the spot where the apostle was born.

Two other Saints were also born in the same place

The Gospel of John says that Saints Andrew and Philip, two other apostles, were also born in Bethsaida. Archaeologists and Bible experts have been looking for the ancient village for a long time. Presently, they have narrowed it down to three possible sites.

The expedition is known as the El-Arak Expedition

The Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archaeology and Nyack College in New York are in charge of the El-Araj Expedition. Since 2016, they have been excavating at one of the sites on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The excavations revealed evidence of Roman occupation of a El-Araj in the first century. They discovered a bathhouse among other things that show Romans lived there.

A mosaic of flowers was the most recent discovery

The most recent find at the dig site is a mosaic of flowers found in a church for the first time in 2019. An inscription calling for the intercession of St. Peter, who is referred to as “chief and commander of the heavenly apostles,” in the writing.

This may be the best proof till date which strongly indicates a special connection between St. Peter and the Basilica that was dedicated to him. Since Byzantine Christian tradition usually stated that Peter’s home was in Bethsaida and not in Capernaum, as is often thought today, it seems likely that the Basilica is a memorial to his home. Steven Notley, a professor at Nyack College and the academic director of the dig, said in a statement that the basilica is a tribute to St. Peter’s birthplace.

The inscriptions back up the archaeological team’s theory

The inscribed words support the archaeological team’s theory that the building was the Church of the Apostles, a Basilica from the Byzantine period described in the writings of Willibald, a German bishop from Eichstadt in the eighth century who made a pilgrimage to holy sites on the Sea of Galilee in 724.

He wrote, “they went to Bethsaida, the residence of Peter and Andrew, where there is now a church on the site of their house.”

The mosaic on the floor of the building is the evidence that seems to show that the place is the Church of Apostles. The inscription also says, “Constantine, the servant of Christ.” However, this may not be the same ruler as the Roman Emperor Constantine. The words are inscribed inside a black tesserae-framed round medallion.

Bethsaida was the ‘Home of the fishermen’

Besides being St. Peter’s birthplace, Bethsaida means “home of the fishermen.” St. Peter and St. Andrew were both fishermen when Jesus asked them to follow him. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus also fed 5,000 people in this village.

The Church’s remains are believed to be sit above the Roman bathhouse

Archaeological records show that the remains of the church are above the remains of the Roman bathhouse. There is a 16-inch layer of silt between the two, which suggests that the Sea of Galilee once flooded the village. That would make sense, since there are no more references to Bethsaida in history books after the third century.

So, when the Byzantines built the Church of the Apostles, people in the area may have forgotten where Peter and Andrew were born and the place was eventually lost.

The newfound evidence concludes that the place is indeed the historic Bethsaida

Even though it might not be possible to tell if the site is where two apostles were born, the new find backs up El-Araj’s claim to be the historic Bethsaida, St. Peter’s birthplace.

Kinneret College professor Mordechai Aviam, the excavation’s director explained, “One of the goals of this dig was to check whether we have at the site a layer from the 1st century, which will allow us to suggest a better candidate for the identification of Biblical Bethsaida.”

He said, “Not only did we find significant remains from this period but we also found this important church and the monastery around it.”

Read Also: 10 Mysterious Discoveries on Earth that Cannot be Explained