The saga of the Kazakhstan official whose likeness was painted into a church fresco depicting a biblical scene has now ended: the painter has added a beard that obscures the official's face, media reported.

Former regional governor Sergei Kulagin was depicted among Jews hailing Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem in a fresco adorning a new Christian church in his Kostanai region, which opened in January.

Kulagin was the only beardless man in the picture. He also faced the spectator, not Jesus, and was allegedly depicted in the place supposed to be occupied by Pontius Pilate.

After a scandal broke out, an icon painter was promptly flown in from Russia to make corrections, Kazakhstan’s Channel Seven television reported late Thursday.

The artist added a beard to Kulagin’s likeness and made him face the Savior, not the church audience, Kostanai weekly Nasha Gazeta said.

The updated fresco will be premiered at Sunday mass. Kulagin, who said earlier that he did not request to be in the picture, has maintained silence about the remake.