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Photo from the Karaman Governorate
Instead of the familiar Christ Pantokrator, the image presents Jesus as a sower or farmer — an agrarian motif that would have spoken directly to local communities.
Archaeologists in Turkey's Karaman province have uncovered five carbonized loaves from the Byzantine era — one stamped with an image of Jesus and a Greek inscription that reads, “With gratitude to the blessed Jesus.”
The breads were found at Topraktepe, ancient Eirenopolis, and dated to the 7th–8th centuries A.D.
What sets the find apart is the iconography. Instead of the familiar Christ Pantokrator, the image presents Jesus as a sower or farmer — an agrarian motif that would have spoken directly to local communities whose faith, labor, and lands were intertwined. The other loaves bear Maltese cross impressions, strengthening the case that these were used liturgically, likely as communion breads.
Continued below.
Ancient “Communion Bread” with Jesus image found in Türkiye
Instead of the familiar Christ Pantokrator, the image presents Jesus as a sower or farmer—an agrarian motif that would have spoken directly to local communities.
aleteia.org