The Church of the Multiplication is located in Ein Sheva, northwest of the Sea of Galilee. It was built on the site to commemorate the miracle of The feeding of the 4,000 (Loaves and Fish), which according to the New Testament was done by Jesus on the site, in which he fed five thousand people in five loaves of bread and only two fish.
Ein Sheva, also known as Tabgha, is a valley that extends northwest of the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum. Its Hebrew name – meaning “seven springs” – was given to it due to the seven springs that originated in it in the past, but today only five are still visible. The Greek name, from which the name “Tabgha” was derived, was named for the same reason (Heptapegon meaning “seven springs” became Tabego and eventually Tabgha).
The Miracle of the Loaves and Fish
The miracle of loaves and fish, also known as “Feeding of the 5,000”, is a miracle described in the New Testament in which Jesus managed to feed thousands of people with a number of loaves of bread and a number of fish.
The first miracle, the “Feeding of the 5,000”, is the only miracle—aside from the resurrection—recorded in all four gospels. According to Matthew’s gospel, when Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been killed, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Luke specifies that the place was near Bethsaida. The crowds followed Jesus on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion for them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
Jesus said they should not go, so the disciples should give them something to eat. They said they had only five loaves of bread and two fish, which Jesus asked to be brought to him. He instructed the people to sit in groups on the grass – In Mark’s Gospel, the crowds sat in groups of 50 and 100, and in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus’ instructions were to seat the crowd in groups of 50, implying that there were 100 such groups.
Jesus took the five loaves of bread and the two fish and looked up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the audience. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces that were leftover.
Church of the Multiplication
In the place attributed to the occurrence of the miracle, a Byzantine church was built in about the year 350, which commemorated it, with the rock traditionally attributed to the place where the miracle took place standing in its center and serving as an altar. This church had a sole nave that ended at the apse, and its location was probably determined due to its proximity to the main road.
In the year 480, the church was enlarged and divided into three naves in a different directions. Part of the rock was moved to the beginning of the apse of the new church, and on its two sides, two more rooms were built.
A large and impressive mosaic that has been preserved in fairly good quality is set on the floor of the basilica, which is about 475 square meters in size. In front of the altar, a pair of fish was designed, including a basket with four loaves of bread – an illustration that became one of the common symbols of the Holy Land in the Christian world.
The church was destroyed by the Sassanids (an ancient empire, that preceded the Persians) in the early seventh century. In 1932, the remains of the ancient churches were exposed, and a temporary protective structure was erected over the sacred rock and the Byzantine mosaics. In 1982 the present church was built which restores the general plan of the old church, except for a few additions. The architects made a clear distinction between the remains of the ancient church and the modern one – the lower part of the walls made of basalt, belongs to the ancient structure, while the modern additions were made of light Jerusalem stone. The original mosaics from the fifth century are made of colored stones, and the mosaics in black and white were added in the 20th century.
The ceiling of the church is made of wood, as was the custom in Byzantine architecture, and is illuminated by two rows of tall windows, on a floor carried by a row of white columns with Corinthian capitals, with arches between them. The floor is covered with mosaics, and in the left aisle, there are glass windows on the floor through which you can see the foundations of one of the walls of the first church that housed the site. The light limestones were brought from a quarry near Taibeh, the red bricks from Italy, and the roof’s wood from Germany.
The altar stands over the rock on which, according to tradition, the miracle was performed, and above the latter hangs a large metal chandelier. The church has only two icons. On the left is the Madonna and Child and on the back is the figure of the Patriarch Martyrius of Jerusalem, the builder of the second church on the site; on the right is Jesus and on the back is Joseph of Tiberias who donated the funds for the founding of the ancient church.
In front of the church, the atrium that led to it was restored – a large and central space with an uncovered courtyard in the center, with a round stone bed in which an olive tree was planted. A fish pond was hewn near the flowerbed, the waters of which come from a fountain in the shape of seven fish, a symbol of the seven springs of Ein Sheva. Outside the church is a baptismal font in the shape of a cross brought from a church near Hebron, dating to the 5th century.
A Benedictine-German monastery was also established on the site, with guest rooms for pilgrims.
Further Reading
Liked the Church of the Multiplication? Read about other churches on the route of Jesus:
