Just off Tiberias’ restaurant-lined Sea of Galilee promenade is the little-known Church of St. Peter, its thick stone walls providing cool respite and tranquility.

The walls of this church, built around the year 1100, widen from the altar to the back like a boat, reminding visitors that Peter fished in the lake just a few steps away. In 1757, the Franciscans were able to refurbish the church, and in 1945 a memorial to the Free Polish Army, which fought here in World War II, was erected in the courtyard. More recent restoration exposed the original medieval masonry.

A beautiful mosaic in the apse depicts Peter in a boat, and the words of Jesus’ charge that Peter was the rock against which the Gates of Hades would not prevail (Matt. 16:18).   

*The church opens on weekdays at 6:00 PM and on Sundays at 8:30 AM for Mass, when a short visit is possible.