St. Peter's Fish

A pilgrimage tour of the Sea of Galilee normally ends with a meal of St. Peter's fish either for lunch or dinner.

Tilapia which is called St. Peter's fish in Israel is a common freshwater fish found in the Sea of Galilee since Jesus' time. It is still one of the favourite fish eaten by the Israelites today. It is called St. Peter's fish because of long passed down story that it was tilapia that were caught by Peter and fed to the people in Tabgha, the home town of Peter. Tabgha (Read here) is an ancient town situated at the the northwest of the Sea of Galilee a short distance from Capernaum.

A meal of St. Peter's Fish.

In the story recorded in Matthew 14:15-21 about the miracle of the feeding of 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread in Tabgha by Jesus, it is generally acknowledged that the two fish are tilapia. Not surprisingly, a Church was built in Tabgha by the faithful to commemorate this miracle. The Church of Multiplication at Tabgha has a mosaic of two fish and five loaves of bread. The fish look similar to tilapia. Unfortunately, a visit to this Church was not in our itinerary.

The mosaic in the Church of Multiplication, Tabgha.