The House of Caiaphus: Where Peter Denied Christ

From the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was taken before the Sanhedrin at the house of Caiaphus, the High Priest.

Somehow, I had no idea that the ruins of his house could actually still exist and there's (of course) a church on top of it, built on the ruins of the Byzantine church.

Below it is a dungeon where it's claimed Jesus was held. It's possible Peter and John were also held here at some point after Jesus' ascension back to Heaven.

Outside the church are ruins from Caiaphus' house, as well as ruins from other eras as well.

this area is likely from the Byzantine church.

Caiaphus' house

And then, the stairs.... stairs the Jesus and His disciples might have walked down on the way to the Garden and then on the way back on the way to the trial before the Sanhedrin:

The view of the Mount of Olives from the top of the steps.

Like the church at the Garden of Gethsemane, the modern church, The Church of Saint Peter Gallincatu ("the rooster's crow" in Latin) is one of my favorite churches in Israel.

If the one at Gethsemane is the night, this one is the sunrise.

Which makes sense, because it was built memorializing not only the trial before the Sanhedrin but also Peter's denial of Jesus.

I've never been inside a church that was these colors. It was gorgeous!

The next time I go, I hope to get a tour of the property so I can understand it all better. It was breathtaking to be there and realize this was likely where Peter denied Christ. 

Eventually, the sun rose on that dark night, just as the rooster crowed. Jesus met Peter's eyes, and he realized that he'd done.

Judas hung himself nearby (apparently the field purchased by the 30 pieces of silver is not far). 

And then Jesus was taken to Pilate.

**a tour guide has told me recently that from an archeological standpoint, it's unlikely this was actually the site of Caiaphus' house. So I now look at this place as a remembrance of these events.