Nazareth and Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee, Israel

 We visited Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee and several locations important to Jesus ministry on our second day in Israel. We were grateful that we have been here before, since our visit to most of the locations was quite rushed. 

The large modern Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth  was built over an ancient grotto in 1969. The location  had been a place of worship since the 1st century AD.  Inscriptions on the walls made made mention of Mary. Countries from around the world contributed money to build the Catholic church, and many beautiful contemporary murals depicting Mary are displayed on the walls.

The American sponsored mural.

The Canadian sponsored mural.




The Japanese sponsored mural


One of the young priests in attendance. It was Sunday morning, and the organ was playing in anticipation of mass starting in in about 20 minutes. I saw this young priest silhouetted against the light, and it was quite a moving image for me.

From Nazareth we drove towards the Sea of Galilee, first stopping at a location above the lake commemorating Jesus' Sermon of the Mount, now known as the Mount of the Beatitudes. It looks directly down at the Sea of Galilee below, which is really a large freshwater lake.

The chapel on the Mount of Beatitudes.

From the Mount we drove down to ancient Capernaum which was one of the sights of Jesus ministry and the location where he called many of his disciples. It was the sight of a large fishing village, and ruins of both a large synagogue, and the ruins of a first century Christian church.
The synagogue in Capernaum which was Roman origin.
The foundations for the synagogue. The black volcanic stone at the base is the original foundation from the time of Christ.




Ruins of foundations from the time Christ directly across from the synagogue.  The modern building covers the ruins of an early Christian octagonal church. 

A modern bronze sculpture at the entrance to the Capernaum site donated by Canadian Sculptor Timothy Schmalz titled  "Homeless Jesus".
"As you do unto the least of my brothers you do unto me" Matthew 25:10

Close to the Capernaum site is the small chapel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee dedicated to Peter, commemorating Jesus appearance to Peter following his resurrection, and calling on him to lead the Christian church.

Several nuns on the shore outside St Peter's Church.

The interior of the chapel dedicated to St. Peter.

A contemporary sculpture outside of St. Peter's church entitled "Feed My Sheep". I loved the backlit image when I took the photo! Very symbolic!
























Comments

  1. LindsayNovember 22, 2022 at 6:57 PM

    Adalea says "that's a very pretty chapel."
    Crazy how old all that is and it's still there! I'm sure it feels great to be in a place Jesus once was.

    ReplyDelete

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