Jan. 18, 2016 Capernaum, Tabgha, and Church of the 12 Apostles in Tiberias.

It's approximately 12:05 pm and we still have a lot to do today. After the boat ride on the Sea of Galilee we head to the ancient city of Capernaum.

http://www.biblewalks.com/Sites/capernaum.html

We went to the museum to see the location of the first Synagogue in the city and then to the ruins of the house of St. Peter. Next to St. Peter's house was the Octagon Church built over the ruins of St. Peter's house.

Octagon Church

 Octagon Church interior

 View of the old house from the Church floor

view of the old house from the outside.

Outside in a plaza facing the sea was a huge statue of St. Peter. Alongside the statue was a monastery.

Now back on the bus to visit the Church of the Holy Apostles which is close to the Sea.


Since today is Epiphany per the old Church Calendar there was an Epiphany Service by the water which included the release of Doves, diving for the Cross and Blessing of Holy Waters on the faithful.

http://www.biblewalks.com/Sites/orthodoxcapernaum.html


We arrived just in time to join the procession from the Church to the pier where the Metropolitan conducted the Epiphany Service assisted by lots of Clergy.
At one point His Eminence threw the Cross in the water where several youth were waiting to dive and retrieve the Cross.

On the way to the water

Doves were released representing the Holy Spirit

A young man recovered the Cross

His Eminence blessed the faithful with Holy Water and then the faithful were able to fill their containers with Holy Water to take home.


The procession then headed back to the Church where we were allowed time to view the beautiful icons and do some shopping at the gift shop.

Going to the Church

One wall of icons in the Church

Gift shop

Now on the bus to The Church of the Multiplication of Loaves  and Fishes- German Benedictine Church.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/church-of-loaves-and-fishes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabgha#Church_of_the_Multiplication

The church is supposed to have been built on the site where Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes.

There is floor mosaic depicting the loaves and fishes and a stone that Jesus stood on when we blessed the food.

This was a short visit. 

We now are on the way to have lunch. It's approx. 2:30.

We were taken to Tanureen Restaurant in Migdal.

Since we were in a group we had a choice of either St. Peter's fish or chicken breast. Since I had heard the fish is really bony I choice the chicken and really was glad I did as it was very tasty.

The St. Peter's fish was deep fried and served whole. It was impossible to eat with a knife and fork. Many just picked it apart by hand to eat.

Lunch also included a salad and Arab coffee. Cost $20 per person.

They had a bar and some of our group had shots of raki before and 

after lunch.

Overall the food was good but service lousy.

Now we are on the way to visit the Church and Monastery of the Apostles in Tiberias. This was not on the tour schedule but Metropolitan Nikitas met Father Dionysios the Priest of the Church at the Epiphany service and he invited our group to visit the Church.

http://www.jesusboat.com/jesus-boat-blog/tiberias-every-church-tells-a-story

The Church is enclosed in walls with barbed wire at the top. Once we entered the courtyard we proceeded to enter the Church.

 There are four chapels inside dedicated to St. Nicholas, the Apostles, Mary Magdalene and  St. Peter.

Father Dionysios gave a short talk about life here and told us the church serves about 15 Slavic families; that he came here from Greece and is unmarried.

Metropolitan Nikitas invited him to join us for dinner at 7:45. Tonight we sat with Metropolitan Nikitas and Father Dionysios and he told us about life here.

Today was really busy- we saw a lot and learned a lot. We were exhausted and went to bed at 10. Tomorrow we start at 8:30am.