Archaeologists in Turkey have uncovered remains of an early Christian church that may have hosted the First Council of Nicaea, one of the most influential gatherings in Christian history.
An international team discovered remains during excavations in July at ancient Nicaea, now the town of İznik in modern-day northwestern Turkey. The site sits along the shore of Lake İznik.
Excavation director Mustafa Şahin believes the newly uncovered structure is the Church of St. Neophytos. He also argues that it may have been the church where bishops gathered for the First Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325.
Researchers believe an earthquake destroyed the earlier church in A.D. 368. A larger structure, known as the Church of the Holy Fathers, was later built over the site.
Excavations reveal an earlier church
Archaeologists first discovered the remains of a large submerged basilica in Lake İznik in 2014. Researchers later identified it as the Church of the Holy Fathers.
The latest excavation began after researchers noticed that floor paving extended beyond the walls of that basilica. The finding suggested that another structure had existed there before the larger church.
Researchers opened trenches east of the prothesis, near the sanctuary area of the church. Within the first week, they confirmed that the paving continued beyond the later building. The evidence strengthened Şahin’s view that a smaller church once occupied the site.
Coins recovered from graves beneath the larger basilica also helped researchers establish its age. Şahin said the evidence dates the Church of the Holy Fathers to around A.D. 380, about 55 years after the First Council of Nicaea.
He believes the later church was built over the council site to honor the bishops who attended the historic gathering.
Historical accounts support the theory
Historical records may support the theory about the earlier structure. Eusebius of Caesarea, a bishop and historian who attended the council, described the gathering as taking place in a small church.
Şahin said that description appears to match the newly uncovered building. “The church was so small that one wonders how so many bishops fit inside,” Şahin said.
The identification of the smaller church as the council’s meeting place remains Şahin’s interpretation of the archaeological and historical evidence.
First Council of Nicaea shaped Christian belief
The First Council of Nicaea was held in A.D. 325 and is widely regarded as Christianity’s first ecumenical council. Bishops from across the Roman Empire gathered to settle major disputes over Christian doctrine.
A central debate concerned the nature of Jesus Christ. The council rejected the teachings associated with Arius, who argued that Christ was created and was not co-eternal with God the Father. The gathering produced the Nicene Creed, which affirmed Christ’s divinity and declared him “begotten, not made.”
Researchers seek evidence of historic meeting place
Further research will be needed to establish whether the smaller church actually hosted the council. If confirmed, the discovery could identify the physical setting of one of the most consequential meetings in early Christian history.
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