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C Sarea-Philippi

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Cæsarea-Philippi (sĕs-a-rç'ah-fĭ-lĭp'pî), now called Banias by the Arabs, is a town at the base of Mount Hermon, about 20 miles north of the Sea of Galilee and 45 miles southwest of Damascus. It was the northern limit of our Lord's journeys, Matthew 16:13; Mark 8:27, and was probably Baal-gad of Old Testament history. It was here that Peter, in the name of all the other apostles, made that confession of faith in Christ as the Son of God, and that Christ uttered the prophecy concerning the indestructible character of his church. Matthew 16:16 ff. The town is remarkable for its physical and historical associations. It was near two important sources of the Jordan; its ancient classical name was Paneas, in commemoration of the sanctuary of the god Pan: it was enlarged by Philip the tetrarch, and named Cæsarea-Philippi to distinguish it from the other Cæsarea, on the Mediterranean; later on it was called Neronias by Herod Agrippa II.; it became the seat of a bishopric; it was repeatedly taken during the Crusades.