Scientists Found the Foundation of the Church Where the First Council of Nicaea Was Held
Archaeologists in Iznik have confirmed the historical testimony of Eusebius of Caesarea that the council was held in a modest church.
In the Turkish city of Iznik, archaeologists have discovered the foundation of the church where the First Ecumenical Council was held in 325. Researchers identified the remains of the Church of Saint Neophytus, confirming historical accounts of the council being convened in a modest building. This was reported by Heritage Daily.
New data indicate that the Basilica of the Holy Fathers was built directly over the ruins of the original church following the earthquake of 368.
The director of the excavations, Professor Mustafa Şahin, reported that the architectural features and floor coverings discovered point to the building described by the historian Eusebius of Caesarea. According to his records, the council was held in a relatively modest church rather than a monumental structure.
During the eleventh archaeological season, scholars from universities in Turkey and Italy uncovered a distinctive floor surface that extends beyond the foundation of the later basilica.
Specialists regard this as evidence that the larger church was built on the site of the earlier, destroyed sanctuary rather than on a new plot of land. The Basilica of the Holy Fathers was constructed after 380 specifically to honor the memory of the bishops who participated in the council.
Small artifacts were also found at the excavation site, including a gold ring and a bronze thimble bearing images of a palm tree and a sword, dating to the Umayyad and Abbasid periods. Previously, coins from the reigns of Emperors Valens and Valentinian I had been found here, confirming the dating of the construction of the upper church.
The discovered ruins represent the most compelling archaeological evidence for the precise location of this historic event. Investigations in the central nave are ongoing in order to definitively clarify the architectural appearance of the building.
As the SPJ previously reported, archaeologists found biblical Bethsaida on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
