St.
Paul's Grotto in Ephesus
The Grotto of St. Paul (or Cave of St.
Paul) is a cave located in the slope of
Bulbuldag hill inside of the ancient Ephesus
city containing important Early Christian
frescoes and inscriptions. It is not known whether any of the
churches in Ephesus were dedicated to St. Paul,
but the saint appears prominently in a sacred cave on the cliff
slope of Bulbuldag.
The Grotto of St Paul has been a
Christian sacred site since the 1st or 2nd century.
Possibly associated with a legend of St Paul’s
ministry in Ephesus, the grotto was decorated
with frescoes and inscriptions, including a portrait of Paul in
the 6th century and ending in about the 11th century. The grotto
was discovered in 1906 and excavated by the Austrian
Archaeological
Institute. Karl Herold, head of the restoration
department, discovered the frescoes beneath the plaster on the
cave walls. Unfortunately the Grotto of St. Paul
is not generally open to the public.
The Grotto of Saint Paul is carved into the northern slope of Bulbuldag (Nightingale Mountain),
high above the Great Theater. A long corridor
leads to the cave sanctuary, which is 15 meters long, 2 meters
wide and 2.5 meters high. The corridor has two niches, blackened
with soot from lamps. On the walls there are important
6th-century frescoes, accompanied by inscriptions, depicting the
Virgin Mary, St. Paul and St. Thecla (a female disciple of
Paul). This is the only known depiction of Paul
at Ephesus and the earliest appearance of
Paul and
Thecla together.
Invocations written on the walls of the cave are highly valuable
for learning about Christian history in
Ephesus, and indicate the grotto remained in continuous
use throughout Late Antiquity and beyond. The Austrian Archaeological Institute
has issued this report on their website: Nineteen of these
graffiti have already been published as Die Inschriften
von Ephesos IV.1285. Among these, most are short and
simple, consisting of the one being petitioned, a form of the
word "help" (βοηθει),
and sometimes signed with "your servant [name]".
Of these, nearly all are invocations to Christ
in some form ("Jesus Christ", "Christ", "Lord Jesus",
or "Lord"). Three are invocations to
Paul and one says simply "Mary Michael"
with no surviving invocation. Inscriptions from the early 20th
century, written on the plaster in the corridor, include the
phrases
"the hidden of Mother of God" and "Paul
help your servant."
Archaeological
Institute. Karl Herold, head of the restoration
department, discovered the frescoes beneath the plaster on the
cave walls. Unfortunately the Grotto of St. Paul
is not generally open to the public. 
"the hidden of Mother of God" and "Paul
help your servant."
