Church of St Peter in Gallicantu

Also referred to as St Peter in Gallicantu

The Assumptionist Fathers have ownership of this beautiful church built over the remains of the house of Ciaphas, the High Priest. Gallicantu means “cock crow” as it was here that Peter denied Jesus on the night before the crucifixion and a cock crew as Jesus had predicted. A visit to the church here involves a fair number of steps as it is built on three levels. An empty water cistern, with evidence of its use as a prison could indeed be the place where Jesus was incarcerated on the night before his death. Visitors can descend into this prison and pause in prayer, often a very moving experience. Next to the church are a flight of Roman steps said to have been those used by Christ and his disciples as they left the Upper Room after the last supper and made their way to the Mount of Olives.