You had asked about the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus asks his disciples who they are, and some reply that he is Elijah (the forerunner of the Messiah); others a prophet. But Simon says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of God.” In response, Jesus says, “You are Peter (Greek for “rock”; the equivalent English nickname would be Rocky), and upon this Rock (get the pun?) I will build my church.” So particularly in Roman Catholic tradition, this is the point where Jesus designated Peter to take a leadership role in the movement that would follow his death.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes a post-Resurrection appearance on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret today). Peter and some others have been fishing all night. A man (whom they don’t recognize) is on the shore and tells them to cast their nets to the other side. They do, and the nets are swamped with fish. Peter recognizes that it is the risen Jesus and strips and jumps into the water to swim to shore. (Gotta love Peter — he is always impetuous and frequently foolish.) Jesus proceeds to fix breakfast on the beach, cooking some fish, and three times he asks Simon Peter, “Do you love me?” When Peter replies, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you,” then Jesus replies, “Feed my sheep.” This is again taken as a designation of Peter as the leader of the movement when Jesus is gone. (Interestingly, though, the actual leader of the church in Jerusalem after Jesus’s death was not Peter but his brother James the Just, who died in 62 C.E. Jesus died around 30 C.E.)

According to tradition, this is the spot where that post-Resurrection appearance and remarkable breakfast occurred. The rock inside the church is called the “Mensa Christi,” or “the table of Christ.” The place has been venerated a long time, but of course, we have no way of knowing if this was THE place. But because Catholic tradition calls Simon Peter the first Pope, Catholics in particular hold “the Church of the Primacy of Peter” as a place of great importance. Both Popes (Paul VI and John Paul II) who visited Israel came there.

I love the church not for any of those reasons but because it is quiet and reflective, and I like the character of Simon Peter because he is so flawed and human.

I hope that sheds some light on that particular place. And again, I absolutely LOVED this blog.

Douglas Duckett
a/k/a Labatt from Trip Advisor

David:
Seeing you here after a long time. Thanks!