Capharnaum is the home of Peter. Jesus spent 80% of his active ministry in Capharnaum and lived most of the time in this house. It must have been a busy front door.
The house of St. Peter, often mentioned by the Synoptic Gospels in relation to the activity of Jesus in Capharnaum, and recorded later on by pilgrims, was rediscovered in 1968 under the foundations of the octagonal church some 30 meters south of the synagogue. The history of that house where Jesus lived, can be summarized as follows:
1. the house was built in the Late Hellenistic period;
2. in the late first century A.D. it was changed into a "domus-ecclesia", i. e. became a house for religious gatherings;
3. in the fourth century A.D. the same "domus-ecclesia" was enlarged and was set apart from the rest of the town through an imposing enclosure wall;
4. in the second half of the fifth century A.D. an octagonal church was built upon the house of St. Peter and remained in use until the seventh century A.D.;
5. the identification of the house of St. Peter is based on the combination of archaeological data and literary sources which run side by side in a wonderful way.