About Mount of Beatitudes

The Mount of Beatitudes is believed to be the place where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. It offers a captivating vista of the northern part of the Sea of Galilee and across to the cliffs of the Golan Heights. Just below is Sower’s Cove where it is believed Jesus taught the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-9) from a boat moored in the bay.

The Sermon of the Mount

The spacious slope of the mount would have provided ample space to accommodate a large crowd and the excellent natural acoustics of the area enabled the people to hear Jesus deliver the sermon (Matthew 5:3-11).

Church of the Beatitudes

The Church of the Beatitudes is an elegant octagonal building with colonnaded cloisters built in 1938 for a Franciscan order of nuns. The octagonal floorplan represents the eight beatitudes which are also shown in Latin in the upper stained-glass windows. The seven virtues are written on mosaics on the floor around the central altar. The inner dome is beautiful with mosaics.

The Garden

The church is surrounded with a beautifully landscaped garden. In the garden are statues and small assembly areas for group worship. Along the path that leads to the church are verses taken from the Sermon on the Mount.