Probably, the ancient church was built on the place where the apostles Peter and Andrew once lived.
Archaeologists discovered in the church, which was once located in in the ancient city of Bethsaida, a mosaic with the dedication “To the Head and Chief of the Heavenly Heralds” – this is how the Apostle Peter was meant. According to scientists, this indicates that the church was built on the site of the house in which the apostle Peter and his brother Andrew lived, reports the Times of Israel.
Read also: Archaeologists discovered the likely palace of Genghis Khan's grandson
p>
Researchers believe that this building is the lost Church of the Apostles of the Byzantine period, located in the biblical village of Bethsaida. Archaeologists from the Kinneret Institute of Galilean Archeology at Kinneret College and Nayak College, led by Professor Mordechai Aviam and Professor Stephen Notley, point out that the inscriptions on the mosaic floor use a generic term to refer to Peter. According to scientists, this indicates that they correctly determined the location of the church of the apostles.
The inscription on the mosaic begins with the words of its donor: “Constantinos, Servant of the Messiah” and then uses the Byzantine phrase “Head and Chief of the Heralds of Heaven”, which refers to Peter, the first disciple of Jesus.
Researchers believe that that this “clearly indicates” that the church was dedicated to Peter.
“Byzantine Christian tradition usually identified the house of Peter and Andrew with Bethsaida. It is likely that the basilica perpetuates the memory of their home. This discovery also confirms its identification with the church described by Willibald, the eighth-century bishop of Eichstadt, who reported that it was built over the house of Peter and Andrew,” Notley said.
Willibald made a pilgrimage to the saints in 724 places along the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. He wrote: “And from there they went to Bethsaida, the residence of Peter and Andrew, where the church now stands on the site of their house. They stayed there that night, and in the morning they left for Khorazin, where our Lord healed the demon-possessed and sent the devil to a herd of pigs.”
The inscription was framed by a medallion of two rows of black stones, it is part of the mosaic floor in the deacon's room of the church. Part of the floor was decorated with geometric and floral patterns.
Archaeologists announced the discovery of a possible church building as early as 2019 and have been working on the site since then. Last year they discovered a mosaic floor here. According to the researchers, the building measuring 27 by 16 meters, decorated with bright mosaics, is an excellent candidate for the role of the church of the apostles.
Researchers hope that in the future they will be able to find inscriptions that point to Peter's brother, Andrew. This will be additional evidence in favor of the fact that the church is connected with the house of the apostles.
Excavations at this place will continue until October, scientists hope to excavate the entire church building and find other tablets.
Related video
Earlier, the Egyptian authorities announced the discovery of hundreds of ancient mummies and golden statuettes in the ancient necropolis of Saqqara. One of the statuettes depicted the famous innovator in the field of architecture Imhotep.
