Cana: the Wedding Church

The village of Kafr Kanna, shown as Cana of Galilee, c. 1890–1900.Photochrom, Library of Congress · no known restrictions on publication

In the Bible

At a wedding in Cana of Galilee, when the wine ran out, Jesus had six stone jars filled with water, and the water became wine — the first of His signs.

John 2:1–11On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why does this concern us?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” Now six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. “Now draw some out,” He said, “and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone serves the fine wine first, and then the cheap wine after the guests are drunk. But you have saved the fine wine until now!” Jesus performed this, the first of His signs, at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

Tradition

One view places Cana here at Kafr Kanna, where pilgrims have come since the Middle Ages; another, held by many archaeologists, at Khirbet Qana, a ruined hill some miles to the north.

Here today

A Franciscan church blessed in 1881 and later enlarged, near a Greek Orthodox church; married couples come here to renew their wedding vows.

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Land outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).