Mount of Beatitudes, Galilee 
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying:"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." (Mt 5:1-5)
There is a nice church on the Mount of Beatitudes, but here it is all about
the view. The church's peaceful gardens overlook the landscape in
which Jesus conducted most of his ministry. Photo
James Emery. 
View from the church's porch. Photo © Bettina & Dominique Zygmont.
A Franciscan friar reading (perhaps the Sermon on the Mount?) on the
Mount of Beatitudes. Photo
Piaras Jackson.
Matthew 5:10 displayed in the gardens. Photo © BibleWalks.
The Franciscan Church of the Beatitudes (1938). Photo © Damon Lynch.
Entrance to the Church of the Beatitudes. © www.HolyLandPhotos.org.
Inside the Church of the Beatitudes. © www.HolyLandPhotos.org.
Located on a small hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee near Tabgha, the Mount of Beatitudes is the traditional site of Jesus' delivery of the Sermon on the Mount, probably the most famous sermon of all time. Pilgrims have been drawn to this scenic place since at least the 4th century.
Authenticity
It is possible that this is the actual site of the Sermon on the Mount, but it is not terribly likely. There is no specific evidence for identification of the site before the 4th century, but it is reasonable to place the Sermon here since Jesus was based in Capernaum not far away.
Jerome Murphy O'Connor attributes the selection of the site to pilgrims' own experiences in the area:
It was perhaps inevitable that this well-watered area with its shade trees on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where Byzantine pilgrims ate their picnics, should have been identified as the location of two episodes involving the consumption of food, the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the conferral on Peter of the responsibility of leadership after a fish breakfast. Then it became convenient to localize the Sermon of the Mount on the small hill nearby. (Oxford Archaeological Guides: The Holy Land, 277)
Regardless of whether this is the very spot, the Church of the Beatitudes stands in the right general area and in a very similar setting to where Jesus would have stood as he delivered his famous sermon. As Murphy-O'Connor puts it, from here "one can see virtually all the places in which Jesus lived and worked" (p.280).
History
Pilgrims are known to have commemorated the Sermon on the Mount near here since the 4th century. After describing the Church of the Loaves and Fishes, the Spanish pilgrim Egeria (c.381) wrote, "Near there on a mountain is the cave to which the Savior climbed and spoke the Beatitudes."
Ruins of a small church dated to the late 4th century have been discovered downhill from the present church. It has a rock-cut cistern beneath it and the remains of a little monastery to its south and southeast. Part of the mosaic floor was recovered and is now on display in Capernaum. The present church was built in 1938.
What to See
Designed by the architect A. Barluzzi, the Catholic church on the Mount of Beatitudes is Byzantine in style. Its octagonal shape represents the eight beatitudes. It has a marble veneer casing the lower walls and gold mosaic in the dome.
The chief attraction here, though, is the setting. The cool and quiet gardens overlooking the Sea of Galilee and the landscape where Jesus conducted his ministry make an excellent place to contemplate some of the best-known Christian teachings.
Quick Facts
| Names: | Church of the Beatitudes; Church of the Sermon on the Mount; Mount of Beatitudes |
| Type of site: | Church; biblical site; footsteps of Jesus |
| Faith: | Christian (all denominations; run by Catholic Franciscans) |
| Dates: | Ruins of late-4C church; modern 1938 church |
| Architecture: | Neo-Byzantine |
| Location: | Hilltop near Tabgha (Heptapegon), off Highway 90, about 10km north of Tiberias, north shore of Sea of Galilee, Israel |
| Hours: | 8:30-12 & 2:30-5; closes at 4 in winter |
| Cost: | Free |
Location Map
Below is a location map and aerial view of the Mount of Beatitudes (center). Using the buttons on the left, zoom in for a closer look or zoom out to get your bearings. Click and drag the map to move around. For a larger view, see our Galilee Map or get our free Google Earth download.
Article Sources
- Kay Prag, Blue Guide to Israel and the Palestinian Territories (Black and Norton, 2002), 425.
- Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, Oxford Archaeological Guides: The Holy Land (Oxford, 1998), 279-80.
