Church of the The Twelve Apostles

The Greek Orthodox Church of the Twelve Apostles (Hebrew: כנסיית השליחים, Knessiath haShlichim Greek language: Εκκλησία Αποστόλων) is a Greek Orthodox church located near the shore of the Sea of Galilee at Capernaum (Kfar Nachum) in Israel. It is also known as simply the Greek Orthodox church at Capernaum. Often it is named as the Church of the Seven Apostles, based on the seven disciples mentioned in John 21, but this might be erroneous.^[1]

Significance[edit]

The church marks the site of the ancient village of Capernaum, which is an important place in Christianity. The village is frequently mentioned in the Gospels and was Jesus' main base during his Galilean ministry. It is referred to as Jesus' own city and a place where he lived. It was in the synagogue of Capernaum where he first started to preach.^[2]

Those who claim that the church is dedicated the seven apostles (or rather five apostles and two more disciples), base it on the Gospel of John, chapter 21.^[3] If it is dedicated to all twelve apostles, this would also make sense due to the long stay of Jesus and his closest disciples in Capernaum. In any case, the church is situated in the more recent, north-eastern part of the ruined village, which was where the inhabitants relocated after the destruction of the old town from the time of Jesus, as a result of either the earthquake of 749 or of a man-made event of the 7th or 8th century.