IZNIK, Turkey – Archaeologists in Turkey have uncovered one of the most significant finds from Anatolia’s early Christian era: a fresco of a Roman-looking Jesus as the “Good Shepherd.”
The fresco was discovered in August in an underground tomb near Iznik, a northwestern town where the Nicene Creed was adopted in A.D. 325. Pope Leo XIV visited last month on his first overseas trip.
The region was part of the Roman Empire, and the Hisardere tomb likely dates to the third century, when Christians faced persecution.
The fresco shows a youthful, clean-shaven Jesus in a toga carrying a goat across his shoulders. Researchers say it is a rare example of Jesus with Roman attributes in Anatolia.
Before the cross became Christianity’s universal symbol, the Good Shepherd motif signified protection, salvation and divine guidance.
Few Good Shepherd examples have been found in Anatolia, and the Hisardere fresco is the best preserved.
The Associated Press was the first international outlet granted access. Lead archaeologist Gulsen Kutbay called the artwork possibly the “only example of its kind in Anatolia.”
The tomb’s walls and ceiling feature bird and plant motifs, along with portraits of nobles and their attendants.
Eren Erten Ertem of the Iznik Museum said the frescoes show “a transition from late paganism to early Christianity, depicting the deceased being sent off to the afterlife in a positive and fitting manner.”
The excavation uncovered five skeletons, anthropologist Ruken Zeynep Kose said. Two were young adults and one an infant; the other two were too deteriorated to age.
Leo visited Iznik last month to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which produced a creed still recited by millions of Christians.
Joined by Eastern and Western church leaders, Leo prayed for Christian unity.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented Leo with a tile painting of the Good Shepherd during the visit.
Anatolia saw pivotal Christian moments: St. Paul was born in Tarsus, St. John spent his final years in Ephesus and the Virgin Mary may have lived nearby.
