Church of St.Peter | Hatay, TURKEY   

Found in a cave on Mount Starius just outside the city of Antakya and said to have been dug by Saint Peter himself, the Church of Saint Peter was used as a place of worship by the early Christian community in the Antakya region.

It is widely believed that this was the very first Christian church in the world. It is known that St.Peter did preach in Antioch (the ancient name of Antakya) around AD 50 and that by as early as 40 AD a church had been established there.

Antioch was an important planning and organizing centre for the apostles and it was from here that Pual set out on his missionary journeys.
 

Little remains of the church and not much can be seen apart from the ground plan and some stone blocks from the fourth century. During the Crusaders rule of Antioch from 1098 to 1268 an attractive stone facing was built for the church and was later restored in 1863 by Capuchin Friars on the orders of Pope Pius IX. The inside of the church contains remains of frescoes and mosaics, an altar, a statue (put there in 1932) and a stone throne but little can be seen of the original church.

A tunnel leading into the mountain at the back of the church is believed to have been a means of escape from attack for the early Christian worshippers.

Baptisms performed in the church used water that seeped from the rocks. This water was also gathered and used for its miraculous healing properties on the sick. However the amount of water that can be collected has decreased because of recent seismic activity.

The garden surrounding the church was used as a cemetery for hundreds of years and although the church is nowadays a museum it was possible to conduct ceremonies inside the church with special permission from the Provincial Governor. However, as large parts of the cave have now collapsed and there is a considerable risk to the visitor, the Turkish authorities have decided to close the cave.

For information on how to get to the cave and other places of interest in the area it is best to visit the tourist office in Antakya.

The tourist office is located 15 minutes walk northwest from the bridge and is open Monday to Friday 8am till 5pm with an hours lunch break between 12 and 1pm

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