Rare fresco of Jesus as 'Good Shepherd' uncovered in Turkish town

Archaeologists in Turkey have uncovered one of the most important finds from Anatolias early Christian era a fresco of a Romanlooking Jesus as the Good ShepherdThe painting was discovered in August in an underground tomb near Iznik a town in northwestern Turkey that secured its place in Christian history as the place where the Nicene Creed was adopted in AD 325 Pope Leo XIV recently visited the town as part of his first overseas tripAt the time the region was part of the Roman Empire and the tomb in the village of Hisardere is believed to date to the third century a time when Christians still faced widespread persecutionThe Good Shepherd fresco depicts a youthful cleanshaven Jesus dressed in a toga and carrying a goat across his shoulders Researchers say it is one of the rare instances in Anatolia where Jesus is portrayed with distinctly Roman attributesBefore the cross was widely adopted as Christianitys universal symbol the Good Shepherd motif played a key role in expressing faith indicating protection salvation and divine guidanceDespite its central role in early Christianity however only a few examples of the Good Shepherd have been found in Anatolia and the one in Hisardere is the best preservedLead archaeologist Gulsen Kutbay described the artwork as possibly the only example of its kind in AnatoliaThe walls and ceiling of the cramped tomb are decorated with bird and plant motifs Portraits of noble men and women accompanied by slave attendants also decorate the wallsEren Erten Ertem an archaeologist from Iznik Museum said the frescoes showed a transition from late paganism to early Christianity depicting the deceased being sent off to the afterlife in a positive and fitting mannerThe excavation uncovered the skeletons of five individuals anthropologist Ruken Zeynep Kose said Because of poor preservation it was impossible to determine the ages of two of them but the others were two young adults and a sixmonthold infantPope Leo XIV visited Iznik last month to mark the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea that produced a creed or statement of faith that is still recited by millions of Christians todayJoined by patriarchs and priests from the Eastern and Western churches Leo prayed that Christians might once again be unitedTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented a tile painting of the Good Shepherd discovery to Leo during his visitAnatolia witnessed pivotal moments in Christian history St Paul was born in Tarsus St John spent his final years in Ephesus and the Virgin Mary may have lived her last days near the same city