To the south of the Mt. of Olives and the city of Jerusalem is another hill: Mt. Zion. Between them lies the Kidron Valley. On the eastern slope of Mt. Zion is the Church of St. Peter in Gallicaantu. It is only a short distance from Zion Gate of the Old City. This church commemorates Peter’s denial of Jesus three times.
Several churches have been built and destroyed on this site. The first church, a Byzantine Basilica, was built around 460 CE. It was damaged in the rebellion of the Samaritans and destroyed by the Persians in 614. A second church followed around 628 and lasted until 1009 when it was destroyed by Caliph Hakim. The third church was built in the 12th century by the Crusaders; it was destroyed between 1293 and 1335. The current church was built between 1920 and 1930 by Assumptionist Father Etienne Boubet. While it has been damaged and repaired, it is the current structure. The site of these churches is believed to be that of the high priest’s house where Peter denied Christ.
Underneath the church are caves that were thought to be used as cisterns and storage compartments for the houses of Roman-era Jerusalem. One is believed to be the cell where Jesus was kept overnight. On the northern side of the church is a stairway leading down to the Kidron Valley below, which dates to Old Testament times.
On the dome of the church is a golden rooster sitting on a black cross to symbolize that Peter would deny Jesus before the Cock crowed. “Galli-cantu” means “cockcrow” in Latin.
The bronze doors depict the scene where Jesus predicts that Peter will deny him three times.
Bronze Doors
In the courtyard is a statue depicting the denial, including the rooster, the woman who questioned Peter, and a Roman soldier. The mosaic depicts how Jesus may have been lowered into the dungeon, and the underground pits.
From a plaque in the courtyard:
“At the foot of the wall, the archaeologists have uncovered a tomb comparable to this one, located at the same level.
When Jerusalem grew, the cemeteries were transferred to the Mount of Olives. The tombs, after having been purified, were arranged for different uses in the basement of the houses built above. There,, the tomb was transformed into a ritual bath (mikveh); here it was dug bu a depth of three meters to serve as a dungeon. A hole in the ceiling made it possible to get down from the courtyard with the aid of ropes the prisoner promised to death.”
Venerated since the 5th century
“The Byzantine Christians, when building the church right on top of the deep pit, were convinced that it had been used as a dungeon, which Christ had been lowered into for his appearance before the Sanhedrin.
-Three crosses were engraved around the circular hole of the ceiling. Other crosses, in red and black, were painted on the walls.
-A lateral opening was pierced and a staircase was arranged to allow the pilgrims to descend into the dungeon. After the destruction of the Crusader church, the deep pit was turned into a cistern; it was under the coating of the walls of this cistern that the excavations in 1889 revealed the Byzantine crosses.
Jesus lived here the trial of the loneliness and abandonment.”
Pathway down behind St Peter’s church and view from the church across Kidron Valley.
There are other sites on Mt. Zion that I did not see, such as King David’s Tomb, the burial place of Mary, and one of two Last Supper rooms. (The other we visited in the Old City.)