Kursi; Chorsia Complete

Description

Kursi lies on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, at the outlet of a wadi descending from the Golan Heights that creates a fertile strip along the lakeshore. A large Byzantine monastic complex was established here, possibly in response to the local tradition that located a Gospel miracle at this spot. The remains were uncovered inadvertently during road construction and subsequently excavated between 1971 and 1974. The church and associated monastic buildings date to the sixth century CE. The site is now incorporated into Kursi National Park and is accessible to visitors. In Christian tradition the area was identified with Gergesa, where Jesus expelled demons into a herd of pigs that then rushed down a steep slope into the water (Mark 5:13). This attribution has been disputed, however, with alternative locations proposed at Hippos to the south and Tel Hadar to the north. A separate discovery concerns the lakeside synagogue at Kursi, which went unrecognized until excavations began in 2015. Situated north of Tell Kursi (el-Kursi), the synagogue yielded a notable find: a marble floor panel inscribed with a dedicatory text in JPA. Further reading: https://www.biblewalks.com/kursi Nun, M. 1989. Gergesa (Kursi) Site of a Miracle Church & Fishing Village. Ein Gev, 9-11. Bauckham, R. 2015 “Gergesa is Tel Hadar, not Kursi,” Revue Biblique 122/2, 268–283. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44092333.