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Capernaum is the ruined fishing village on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee that the Gospels call the own town of Jesus, where he based his Galilean ministry.
The site holds the remains of a beautiful white limestone synagogue, built over the basalt foundations of the very synagogue where Jesus taught. A short walk away are the remains of a first century house honored as the home of Peter, now sheltered beneath a modern church.
Capernaum sat on a trade route and had a Roman garrison, which is why a centurion and a tax collector both appear in its Gospel stories. Walking its quiet ruins today, you stand at the heart of the public ministry of Jesus.
Jesus healed Peter's mother in law here, cured the centurion's servant, forgave and healed the paralyzed man lowered through the roof, and taught in the synagogue.
So much of the Gospel unfolds in this one small town. "They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach." (Mark 1:21)
Why does Capernaum matter to pilgrims?
It is where the daily life of Jesus becomes real, the town where he lived, taught, and healed among ordinary working people. Standing in the synagogue and beside Peter's house, pilgrims often feel closer to the everyday ministry of Jesus here than almost anywhere else in Galilee.
On the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, close to Tabgha and the Mount of Beatitudes, so all three are usually visited on the same day.
The white limestone synagogue built over the one where Jesus taught, and the remains of Peter's house beneath a modern church.
Holy Sites
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