A stone façade is set straight into the mountainside. Behind it, the cave is cool and dim, with a simple altar at the back and water seeping from the rock.

The cave church

The Church of Saint Peter is a cave carved into Mount Starius near Antakya, ancient Antioch, 13 m deep, 9.5 m wide and 7 m high. There is no reliable date for it, but it is believed that St Peter preached here and laid the foundation of the Christian church of Antioch. The oldest surviving parts date from at least the 4th or 5th century: pieces of floor mosaic and traces of frescoes to the right of the altar. A tunnel inside, opening onto the mountainside, is thought to have been an escape route during raids.

Crusaders and Capuchins

Crusaders who captured Antioch in 1098 lengthened the church and built a façade. On the orders of Pope Pius IX, Capuchin friars restored the church and rebuilt the façade in 1863, with help from Emperor Napoleon III. Water seeping from the rocks was gathered inside for drinking and baptism, and was believed to heal, by Christians and Alawites alike.

Visiting

The church is a museum today. It came through the 2023 earthquakes largely intact, and is opened for worship only on rare occasions such as Christmas Eve.

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  Façade Rebuilt in 1863.
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  Floor mosaics 4th or 5th century.
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  Escape tunnel Into the mountainside.