Tabgha Church of the Loaves and Fish

Address
Tabgha, Israel
Web
http://www.tabgha.net/
Visiting Hours
Monday to Saturday from 8:00 to 15:45, Sunday from 11:00 to 15:45
What to see
Mosaic of the loaves and fishes, Byzantine era mosaics, Rock of the Multiplication

Tabgha comes from the Greek Heptapegon, which means “seven springs”. Since ancient times, several pilgrims from the first centuries of Christianity have attested that there was a church there housing a rock on which Jesus produced the multiplication of the loaves and fish, according to the Gospel of John, to feed 5,000 people. . Later, a Byzantine basilica was erected over that first church. The invasion of the Persians in the 7th century destroyed all the religious buildings in Galilee, and the location of this place was forgotten until the 19th century.

In 1889, the German Association of the Holy Land bought the land and proceeded to carry out excavations, bringing to light in 1932 the rock and a series of beautiful Byzantine mosaics. The current temple (the fourth to be built on the site), today administered by the Benedictine Order, was completed in 1982. The current structure is intended to imitate the ancient Byzantine basilicas, and preserves the original mosaics inside.