September 24, 2020

Press Release

Has the Lost City of the Apostles been found?

WASHINGTON — Museum of the Bible will host scholar Dr. R. Steven Notley Thursday, Oct. 1, for an event titled “Locating the Lost City of the Apostles.” Dr. Notley will discuss the search for the true location of the biblical city of Bethsaida-Julias, the hometown of apostles Peter, Andrew, and Philip, which is informally known as the Lost City of the Apostles. 

“I served as a professor of the New Testament for 18 years, and the identification of the precise location of Bethsaida-Julias has long been a lingering question in the geography of ancient Galilee,” said Jeffrey Kloha, Ph.D., chief curatorial officer at Museum of the Bible. “Dr. Notley’s work is enlightening and provocative. This is a discussion you want to take part in.”

Though there are a number of potential sites for Bethsaida-Julias, Notley will argue that El-Araj, the historical dig site where he has completed four seasons of excavation, is the most likely location for the Lost City of the Apostles. 

Notley is the Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins and the director of graduate programs in Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins at Nyack College in New York City. He received his doctorate from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he and his family lived for 16 years. Notley has been directing groups of students and laypeople to Israel and the eastern Mediterranean region for 30 years and has served as the academic director of the El-Araj Excavation Project since 2016. 

Museum of the Bible will host this special event from 6:30-8:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Oct. 1, and a Q&A session will follow his presentation. General Public tickets are available for $9.99, and Museum of the Bible Member and Student tickets are $4.99. The event will also be available virtually via Zoom.

More information on Museum of the Bible’s Locating the Lost City of the Apostles event is available here.