Capharnaum in the New Testament is given as the home of the apostles Peter, Andrew, James, John and Matthew. In Matthew's gospel the town is given as the adult home of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke says Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capharnaum on the Sabbath days. In Capharnaum (Greek its Capharnaum, English its Capernaum) Jesus healed a man who had the spirit of an unclean devil and healed a fever in Simon Peter's mother-in-law. According to Matthew it is also the place where a Roman Centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant. The synagogue that Jesus taught in has been found beneath the remains of a later synagogue 4th Century synagogue. Capharnaum was a settlement on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The site is a ruin today, but was inhabited from 150 BC to about AD 750.

The remains of Peter's house in Capharnaum can be seen today; including the inner room which was used as the very first Christian Church. Jesus performed many miracles in Capharnaum. The foundations of Peter's house and the 4th Century Synagogue built on top of the original Capharnaum foundation are seen in these Pictures. Capharnaum was a small village but large enough to have a small synagogue. In Jesus' time Capharnaum was a poor fishing village, which extended along the north lake shore for a distance of about 1,600 feet. The Jewish inhabitants could not afford their own synagogue but a Roman Centurion, who held the Jewish people in high regard, built one for them.

The modern Saint Peter's Memorial Church was built over the traditional House of Saint Peter by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land to protect the archaeological remains of the Insula Sacra, and to make the ruins more accessible to the visitors. The inside of the memorial is used for religious services.