Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.…“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven”.
Matthew Chapter 16
Caesarea Philippi later came to be known as Baniyas, an Arabic corruption of the Greek word Panias, a place named after the Greek God Pan who was worshiped here over 2,000 years ago. Today we celebrate the place for two reasons: it’s life giving waters, a source of the Jordan River, and the place where Saint Peter comes to prominence in the Gospels, declaring that Jesus was the Christ.