CHURCH OF THE PRIMACY OF ST: PETER, TABGHA-Jesus appears to disciples for third time after resurrection (John 21).

According to Christian beliefs it was here Jesus restored Peter to Himself after the disciple's three denials by asking him three times if Peter loved Jesus (John 21:15-19). Here Jesus conferred on Simon Peter again the Primacy over the church. The present Church was built by Franciscans in 1933. Remains of the 4th-century church can be seen along the outside base of three of the walls. Inside the Church, in front of the altar, you can see a flat rock popularly identified as Mensa Christi (Lat., the table of Christ), the assumed place where Jesus offered breakfast to the disciples after resurrection. Recently an ancient harbor is also discovered on the shores of Tabgha.

In John 21, Jesus appears to his disciples for the third time after his resurrection on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. After the miraculous draught of fish, the disciples find Jesus on the shores with a charcoal fire for the fish and bread, and they have breakfast together (John 21:9). This is believed to have taken place on the Mensa Christi, a large rock incorporated in the chapel. After breakfast, Jesus reinstated Peter (after his three-time denial of Jesus at the crucifixion) with the words "Feed my sheep". The rock-cut steps mentioned by Spanish pilgrim Egeria (381 AD) are still visible near the sides of modern church. These are believed to be the "stone steps where the Lord stood" (John 21:4).