World

EWTN News reports that Steven Notley, academic director of the El Araj Excavation Project, presented findings at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C., on May 5, 2026, claiming that ongoing excavations at El Araj in Israel have “essentially confirmed” the site as the biblical Bethsaida — the hometown of the apostles Peter, Andrew, and Philip. The article highlights the discovery of a first-century house beneath the apse of a Byzantine-era basilica, which Notley says matches the eighth-century account of Bishop Willibald of Eichstätt, who described a church built over the home of Sts. Peter and Andrew. A mosaic inscription reading “Chief of the apostles and keeper of the keys of heaven” was also uncovered. The article further notes that a wildfire inadvertently aided the dig by clearing underbrush and revealing previously hidden structures. Melissa Overmyer, a Catholic evangelist, testified that such experiences in the Holy Land turn “Bible stories into Bible realities.” The entire spectacle — from the language of “confirmation” to the evangelical fervor of lay volunteers — reveals a disturbing trend: the substitution of archaeological sensationalism for the supernatural certitude of faith.