St. Pierre Memorial Museumvisitor guide.

THE WORLD'S FIRST CAVE CHURCH Considered the 'world's first cave church', St. Pierre Church is situated on the Antakya-Reyhanlı road on the western slope of Mount Stauris (Mount of the Cross). St. Peter, one of Jesus's 12 apostles, came to Antioch between 29 and 40 AD and sought to spread Christianity in this church. With the name 'Christian' first bestowed upon the congregation at religious gatherings held in this church, St. Pierre Church is distinguished as one of Christianity's earliest churches. St. Pierre (Saint Peter) Church was designated a 'pilgrimage site' by Pope Paul VI in 1963. Visited alongside views of the modern city, a special mass is organized annually on June 29 by the Catholic Church. It is also known as Christianity's first church prior to its division into Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant denominations. JOURNEY FROM CAVE TO CHURCH Originally a natural cave converted into a church through additions, the structure took on Gothic features with an added facade built by Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries. The floor of the cave contains mosaic remnants dating to the 4th and 5th centuries. The church also features an altar, a small marble statue of St. Peter in a niche, holy spring water, and an escape tunnel used by the congregation to flee secretly during attacks. St. Pierre Church is visited by thousands of domestic and international visitors each year. WHILE YOU ARE HERE… Located in the countryside of Aknehir in Samandağ and built in the 5th century AD, the Monastery of St. Simon is another significant site worth seeing. Set amid magnificent natural scenery, the monastery is known as the place where religious rites were led by St. Simon Stylites, founder of the Stylite order in Late Antiquity, and where St. Simon lived in solitary contemplation. DOWNLOAD MUSEUM BROCHURE NEARBY MUSEUMS HATAY ARCHAEOLOGY MUSEUM NECMİ ASFUROĞLU ARCHAEOLOGY MUSEUM ST. SIMON MONASTERY ÇEVLİK ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE