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Discovery of St. Paul's Grotto in Ephesus Text and photos by Professor Renate Pillinger of Austria Translated from the German by Peri Chapar In the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla there is mention of a cave where St. Paul stayed as he shared the Gospel of Christ: "When Thecla came to the cave, she found Paul upon his knees praying and saying, 'O holy Father, O Lord Jesus Christ, grant that the fire may not touch Thecla; but be her helper, for she is thy servant'" (Acts of Paul and Thecla). Recently a cave in Ephesus was rediscovered. The discovery was published by Professor Renate Pillinger in Mitteilungen Zur Christlichen Archaologie of Austria (Issue Number 6,2000). Since 1892, descendants of the area near the cave had passed on the tradition that after Christ's ascension, his mother Mary stayed with St. John the Apostle. She lived in a grotto on the western side of Mount Budrum. To this day a feast is celebrated in her honor on the Friday after Easter. The grotto gave veneration to the "hidden Mother of God." Later research in the area of the caverns in Ephesus revealed a mysterious grotto. It was so overgrown with grass and plants that it was almost invisible. Pieces of ceramic, glass, coins and other fragments were found. Upon entering the grotto, a marble floor and graffiti in pencil and paint were discovered. In 1955 F. Miltner called it the "Grotto of St. Paul" after finding petitions to St. Paul on the walls that were covered with drawings and inscriptions. The contents of the inscriptions were short prayers and acclamations: "Paul, help your servant Nik." "God, help your servants." "Help, Maternos and Lenotia." "Lord, have mercy." "Lord, help." "Jesus, Christos," "Paul, give your servant Sophronios the right mind." "Lord, help your servant Timothy." "Lord, help your servant Aphrodisios and the whole household." The inscriptions were written in Greek for the most part. Although a clear date for the inscriptions cannot be given, other findings in the grotto show that this has been a monument of faith for 2,000 years—a time capsule of Christianity and, in particular, of Paul in Ephesus. Many paintings were covered over with whitewash. By 1998, much of the whitewash was removed and figures can now be seen. Along with the figures are inscriptions made with pencil and chalk. One painting seems to represent a youthful Christ, with Moses and Elijah as on the mountain of transfiguration. Christ is beardless, which places the depiction from the 3rd-6th centuries. There is also a depiction of Abraham sacrificing Isaac. On the wall to the left of the entrance is a well preserved and complete picture with the name Thekla inscribed. A female figure in dark red with a raised right hand is turning toward a sitting male figure with a raised right hand and an open book (who is considered to be Paul). An excerpt from the Acts of Paul and Thecla describes the story behind this scene.
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