Archaeologists Uncover Site of First Council of Nicaea in Turkey

Archaeologists in Turkey have reportedly made a significant discovery. They believe they have uncovered the remains of a church that may have hosted the First Council of Nicaea. This event is known as one of the most important in Christian history.

An international team of researchers excavated a church complex in the ancient city of Nicaea, now the modern town of İznik, according to Anadolu Agency. Mustafa Şahin, the excavation director, identified the building as the Church of St. Neophytos, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 368 A.D. It was later replaced by the Church of the Holy Fathers around 380 A.D.

Photographs show archaeologists digging around the stone foundations along Lake İznik’s shore, revealing centuries-old walls and masonry. They found evidence of an earlier church, believed to have hosted the First Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325.

Şahin stated his team was alerted to the possibility of a smaller church after seeing that the floor paving extended beyond the existing basilica’s walls. “That was our most important question this season,” he said. “We began excavating east of the prothesis, outside the church’s exterior wall.” By the end of the first week, the team confirmed the floor paving continued beyond the current church.

Nicaea is renowned for hosting the First Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., the first ecumenical council in Christian history. This council produced the Nicene Creed, affirming Jesus as “begotten, not made” and fully divine. It aimed to unify Christian doctrine across the Roman Empire and rejected Arius’s belief that Christ was a created being.

In 2014, archaeologists first identified a submerged basilica at this site, later identified as the Church of the Holy Fathers. Şahin stated that the newly uncovered, smaller church beneath it is likely the church that hosted the council. Coins found beneath the later basilica helped date its construction around A.D. 380, supporting the conclusion of an earlier church on the site.

Historical accounts by Eusebius of Caesarea, who attended the council, aided the researchers. Eusebius described the meeting as taking place in a small church. Şahin emphasized the significance, noting, “The church was so small that one wonders how so many bishops fit inside. This itself was a great miracle of God.”

Şahin expressed confidence that the Church of Saint Neophytos was beneath the Church of the Holy Fathers and was the site of the council. He added, “The Church of the Holy Fathers… was built after 380 over the site of the First Council and in memory of the bishops who attended it.” This year, they confidently confirmed its location.

Turkey is known for archaeological discoveries tied to early Christianity. Last summer, excavations in the ancient city of Olympos uncovered a fifth-century Christian church with a concealed inscription. Later that year, in southwestern Turkey, remains of a Roman hospital, converted into a Christian sanctuary, were uncovered.