In August 2022, archaeologists working on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee made a discovery that should matter to every Catholic. Buried beneath centuries of sand and stone, they uncovered a Byzantine-era mosaic with an inscription that reads, in part, “chief and commander of the heavenly apostles”—a title Byzantine Christians used specifically for Saint Peter.
The inscription was found in what archaeologists call the “Church of the Apostles,” a basilica first discovered in 2019 at the El-Araj site. This ancient church, approximately 1,500 years old, may well stand over the ruins of Bethsaida, the hometown of Peter, Andrew, and Philip. The mosaic itself includes a petition from a donor named Constantine, who asks for Peter’s intercession. It’s a beautiful window into how the early Church understood Peter’s role—not just as one apostle among many, but as the chief, the commander, the rock upon which Christ built his Church.
The inscription in the mosaic floor found in the remains of what archaeologists believe is the Byzantine Church of the Apostles built to stand over the home of St. Peter and his brother, Andrew. Photo by Achia Kohn-Tavor, courtesy of Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
What strikes me about this discovery isn’t just its archaeological significance, though that matters. It’s what it tells us about the continuity of faith across the centuries.
“The chief and commander of the heavenly apostles.” That’s not a title invented by medieval popes or Counter-Reformation theologians. It’s what Christians were saying 1,500 years ago.
The Church has always recognized Peter’s primacy. From the earliest days, Christians understood that Christ gave Peter a unique authority and mission. When Our Lord asked, “Who do you say that I am?” it was Peter who answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And it was to Peter that Christ responded, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.” That primacy wasn’t invented centuries later—it was lived and breathed by the early Church, as this mosaic inscription testifies.
This discovery also strengthens the connection between archaeological evidence and the historical accounts we have from early pilgrims. An eighth-century German bishop named Willibald documented visiting a church built over Peter’s house during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 724. The El-Araj site, with its Byzantine basilica and now this inscription, appears to be that very church. The stones cry out, as Scripture says, bearing witness to what the faithful have always known.
But here’s what matters most about this discovery: it’s not just about the past. It’s about us, here and now.
The Church built on Peter endures because Christ promised it would.
Peter’s primacy wasn’t just for his generation. It was—and is—for ours. The office Christ gave to Peter continues in his successors, the bishops of Rome, the popes. When we recognize the pope’s authority, we’re not bowing to medieval tradition or human invention. We’re recognizing the office Christ himself established, the rock he chose to build his Church upon. The same Church that built that basilica in Bethsaida, that inscribed Peter’s title in mosaic, that has endured for two millennia through persecution, schism, scandal, and heresy.
The gates of hell have not prevailed against her. They never will.
This ancient inscription, buried for centuries and now brought to light, reminds us that the Church’s teaching about Peter isn’t an innovation. It’s not something added later to consolidate power or establish hierarchy. It’s what Christians have always believed, from the time of the apostles themselves. The early Church knew who Peter was. They knew what Christ had given him. And they honored it.
That same Church—built on Peter, guided by his successors, animated by the Holy Spirit—is the Church we belong to today. When we profess our faith, when we receive the sacraments, when we submit to the teaching authority of the Church, we’re standing in an unbroken line that stretches back through centuries of faithful Christians to Peter himself. To Christ himself.
The mosaic at El-Araj is more than an archaeological curiosity. It’s a testimony written in stone and glass by believers who understood what we sometimes forget: that the Church’s structure isn’t arbitrary, that Peter’s primacy isn’t negotiable, and that Christ keeps his promises. He promised to build his Church on Peter. He promised the gates of hell would not prevail against it. And he promised to be with us always, until the end of the age.
A Byzantine Christian named Constantine once asked Peter to intercede for him, and his petition was preserved in mosaic for us to find 1,500 years later. We can ask the same. Saint Peter, chief and commander of the heavenly apostles, pray for us. Pray for the Church built on your faith. Pray that we, like the faithful of Bethsaida and Byzantium and every age, will recognize and honor what Christ established in you, and what continues in your successors today.