02/09/2026
Hidden in the ancient city of Antioch is a small cave that has witnessed some of the earliest chapters of Christianity.
It is known today as St. Peter's Cave Church, or the Church of St. Peter.
Tradition holds that the cave was used by the first Christians of Antioch and was associated with the preaching of St. Peter. The site is traditionally dated to the earliest Christian period, although the exact date of the cave's construction and its present form are matters of historical debate.
What makes Antioch especially significant is what happened to the Christian community there.
The Acts of the Apostles tells us:
“It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.”
— Acts 11:26
Antioch became one of the great centers of the early Church. Peter and Paul preached there, and the city became an important base for missionary activity.
And from this community came one of the most important words in Catholic history.
Around the beginning of the 2nd century, St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr, wrote to the Christians of Smyrna:
“Wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”
This is among the earliest surviving uses of the word “Catholic” to describe the Church.
The cave itself is remarkably simple.
A small altar.
A stone seat.
A modest interior carved into the rock.
No marble basilica. No magnificent dome. No elaborate architecture.
Just a place where generations of Christians have gathered to proclaim the same Christ.
The Church that began in humble places like this would eventually spread across the entire world.
From a cave in Antioch to cathedrals on every continent.
From a small persecuted community to billions of Christians today.
The Church began not with magnificent buildings, but with the preaching of Christ and the witness of His Apostles.
And in Antioch, those early disciples were first given the name by which Christians would be known forever:
Christians.
