Simon Peter’s House in Capernaum

Capernaum was a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, situated on the highway from the Mediterranean coast to Damascus.  It provided local fishermen with a small port. The town is known from the early Roman period onwards. Josephus describes the area as very fertile and records that its people had taken an active part in the war against the Romans.[1]

This town is frequently mentioned in the gospels. Jesus moved there from Nazareth, on the borders of Zebulon and Naphtali (Matthew 4:13).  There He found His first disciples, Peter, Andrew and the two sons of Zebedee (Matthew 4:18–22). He taught in the town’s synagogue (John 6:24–59) and directed Peter to find a coin in the mouth of a fish with which to pay the temple tax (Matthew 17:24–7). He lodged there in Peter’s house, healing the sick and teaching (Mark 1:29–34; 2:1–12; Luke 4:38–44). Leaving Capernaum he condemned it along with other cities that had not heeded his calls to repentance (Matthew 11:23; Luke 10:15).

The latest evidence of a living community at Capernaum is a fifth century inscription in Aramaic in the synagogue of el-Hamma (Hammath-Gader). From that time onwards nothing remains intact; only ruins. The most impressive are those of the synagogue, first uncovered by E. Robinson in 1838 and identified as Capernaum by C. Wilson in 1865. In 1894 the Franciscans bought the site and fenced it off to prevent the theft of masonry. It was explored in 1905, excavated in 1921 and partly reconstructed four years later. [2]

The next excavations by the Franciscans (V. Corbo and S. Loffreda) began in 1968, and went well beyond the synagogue, uncovering parts of the town. In this connection they became interested in the remains of an octagonal building, identified as a Byzantine-era church (400-500 AD), 84 feet south of the synagogue, opposite the synagogue facade facing Jerusalem .

Directly beneath the octagonal church building lay remains of another building. It was a house almost certainly used as a church, judging from the graffiti on the walls left by Christian pilgrims. For example, a graffito scratched on a wall reads, “Lord Jesus Christ help thy servant … ” A proper name followed but is no longer readable. Another reads, “Christ have mercy.” On the walls crosses are depicted. The graffiti is predominantly Greek, but some are also in Syriac and Hebrew. The presence of Hebrew graffiti suggests the community might have been comprised of Jewish Christians. According to Franciscan excavators, the name Peter is found at least twice in these inscriptions.[3]

The house was likely built in the first century BC. It was constructed of rough black basalt boulders. There were a number of small rooms, two courtyards, and one large room. When it was built, it was likely indistinguishable from other houses in the ancient seaside town. However it was renovated near the middle of the first century AD. Its walls and floors were plastered – quite unusual for ordinary houses, but common in buildings used for large gatherings. Experts concluded that the building had been turned into a “house-church,” and so used until the fifth century.[4]

While the case is far from airtight, the circumstantial evidence is intriguing, to say the least! Its location, original construction, early conversion into a Christian house-church, and presence of the name Peter in inscriptions, have many scholars[5] lead to the conclusion that this house once belonged to Simon Peter.