- Address: מפרץ שלמה 1, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel;
- Discovery: 1894;
- Website: berlindoener.info;
- Phone: +972 3-682-2871;
- Architectural style: Mexican Baroque.
In the southern part of the city of Tel Aviv the Church of St. Peter is located, to get into it you need to be on the courtyard of the righteous Tarifa. This is an Orthodox church in old Jaffa, which is in the introduction of the Moscow Patriarchate in Jerusalem.
What is famous for the Church of St. Peter (Jaffa)?
In 1868, the grave of Tabitha was on the site of the temple, its age is not exactly known, but it is decorated with Byzantine mosaics of the V-VI centuries, the chapel towered over the tomb. This site, along with its attributes, was acquired by the Chief of Mission of Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin. Soon construction began on the land purchased. The first was built a house for Orthodox pilgrims who arrived on the holy land through the Jaffa port. Around the hospitable house was a splendid garden, in which flower beds, fruit and ornamental trees were planted.
In 1888 the Council of Grand Dukes Sergey and Pavel Romanov was convened, and Princess Elizabeth was present, and the construction of the future church was agreed between them. In 1894 the church was consecrated by Patriarch Gerasim in honor of the feast of Worship, which is celebrated on January 16, and the northern part was sprinkled in honor of the righteous Tarifa. The next archimandrite Leonid Sentsov was already painting the temple.
By the end of XX century. It was evident that the entire Tarifa farmstead requires reconstruction together with the church. In 1995, they began restoration work, which was headed by Archimandrite Theodosius. Attention was paid to the restoration of the urgent house and the path that runs to the temple. The next year was devoted to the restoration of the church and its bell tower. In 1997, there was a great event - the 150th anniversary of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem , the head of the Moscow Patriarchate and All-Russia Alexei II arrived. He traveled throughout the metochion of the righteous Tarifa and performed a moleben in this area before his return home. By the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Christ, all the work in the temple and the pilgrimage house have been completed, but there are still changes in the improvement of the adjacent territory.
The Church of St. Peter in our day
To date, the temple has retained the original proportions and details that are typical of Byzantine architecture. The church consists of 2 altars: central, in honor of St. Peter and the left - for the righteous Tarifa. Inside the dome consists of a two-tiered white iconostasis. In the temple there is an icon of the Mother of God, to the left of it the image of the "Resurrected Tariff". The walls of the church were painted in 1905, by craftsmen working in the Pochaev Lavra. The walls and choruses depict scenes from the life of the holy apostle Peter. On the altar pillars are represented two apostles Peter and Paul, a little higher than the remaining ten apostles.
Every day for the arrived pilgrims, group tours are conducted from 8 am to 7 pm. On Sunday after the Divine Liturgy, parishioners attend the temple to confess. Near the temple, Sunday schools are organized, where classes are held separately for adults and children.
How to get there?
The location of the church of St. Peter in Jaffa is Ofer Street. It is very easy to get there from the central bus station, for this you need to take the bus number 46. The entrance to the temple is from the side of Herzl Street.