The Church of Saint Peter (also known as St. Peter's Cave Church and Cave-Church of St. Peter; (

romanization In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and tra ...

); ) near

Antakya Antakya (), Turkish form of Antioch, is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is . Prior to the devastating 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, 2023 earthquakes, its population was recorded ...

(

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

), is composed of a

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

carved into the mountainside on Mount Starius with a depth of 13 m (42 ft.), a width of 9.5 m (31 ft.) and a height of 7 m (23 ft). The church is not to be mistaken with the former cathedral of Antioch, the

church of Cassian The Church of Cassian (), also called the Church of St. Peter (gr. ''Hagios Petros''), was the Cathedral church of Patriarch of Antioch during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. The church is not to be mistaken with the cave church called St. Pe ...

which was also called church of St. Peter.

History

There is no reliable data to date the construction of the church though it is believed that St. Peter preached and laid the foundation for the Christian church of Antioch. The oldest surviving parts of the church building date from at least the 4th or 5th century; these include some pieces of floor

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

s, and traces of

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es on the right side of the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

. The tunnel inside which opens to the mountainside is thought to have served the Christians for evacuation of the church in case of sudden raids and attacks. Water which seeps from the nearby rocks was gathered inside to drink and to use for

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

; the flow of this water, which visitors drank and collected to give to those who were ill (believing that it was healing and curative), has lessened as a result of recent earthquakes.Clyde E. Fant, Mitchell Glenn Reddish
A guide to biblical sites in Greece and Turkey
(Oxford University Press US, 2003), pg. 149

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

is believed to have been baptised here and the water was sought not only by Christians but also

Alawites Alawites () are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ...

who attributed to the water a beneficent healing virtue. The church has been also called St. John's grotto, possibly because of

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; ; – 14 September 407) was an important Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and p ...

who is believed to have given sermons and performed baptisms here. The side is also identified as such by

Wilbrand of Oldenburg Wilbrand of Oldenburg (before 1180 - Zwolle, 26 July 1233) was a bishop of Paderborn and of Utrecht. Family Wilbrand was the son of Henry II, Count of Oldenburg-Wildeshausen, and Beatrix of Hallermund, daughter of Wilbrand I, Count of Loccum-Ha ...

who visited it in 1211 and said that it was built over the house of St. Luke the Evangelist. Crusaders of the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

who captured Antakya in 1098 lengthened the church by a few meters and connected it with two arches to the facade, which they constructed. Acting on orders from

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

Capuchin Friars The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of Franciscans, Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three "Religious institute#Nomenclature, F ...

restored the church and rebuilt the facade in 1863; French Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

contributed to the restoration. The remains to the left of the entrance belong to colonnades which formerly stood in front of the present facade. Atop the stone altar in the middle of the church is a stonework platform placed in memory of

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

's Platform Holiday, which was celebrated every 21 February in Antakya. A marble statue of Saint Peter was placed above the altar in 1932. The garden of the church has been used as a cemetery for hundreds of years. Graves and burials have also been located inside the church, especially around the altar. In the vicinity was also the relics of St Ignatius, the first bishop of Antioch. The church is a museum today, but it is possible to perform worship services inside the church under the inspection of the Museum Management by obtaining a permit from the Office of the Provincial Governor. The church underwent restoration in 2013, with plans including repairs on the rock, construction of a service building and attempts to uncover fourth to fifth-century mosaics from the church’s earliest period.

Images

Image:Antioch_Saint_Pierre_Churchyard.JPG, Churchyard Image:Antioch_Saint_Pierre_Church_Inside.JPG, Church interior Image:Antioch_Saint_Pierre_Church_Altar.JPG, Altar File:Antakya Church of St. Peter exterior ın 2025 05.jpg, St Peter's Cave Church Facade File:Antakya Church of St. Peter exterior ın 2004 01.jpg, St Peter's Cave Church Facade File:Antakya Church of St. Peter interior general ın 2004 01.jpg, St Peter's Cave Church Interior File:Antakya Church of St. Peter interior altar area ın 1996 15.jpg, St Peter's Cave Church Altar area File:Antakya Church of St. Peter interior stone chair ın 2004 03.jpg, St Peter's Cave Church Facade File:Antakya Church of St. Peter interior small pool ın 2004 08.jpg, St Peter's Cave Church Entrance tunnel

References

External links

Cave Church of St. PierreChurch of AntiochAntiochian Patriarchate
{{Authority control Churches in Turkey New Testament places Antakya Buildings and structures in Hatay Province World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey Crusader churches Cave churches

History

Images

See also

References

External links