Archaeologists excavating at İznik have uncovered evidence they believe represents the remains of the original church where the First Council of Nicaea convened in AD 325, one of the defining events in the history of Christianity.
The new evidence comes from wall foundations, floor pavements and architectural features that scholars believe are attributed to the Church of Saint Neophytos, a church that was destroyed in the AD 368 earthquake. It suggests that a later basilica, known as the Church of the Holy Fathers, was built directly over the former one, which had long been debated by scholars.
The excavation is part of the eleventh archaeological season at the basilica site on the shores of Lake İznik. Since 2015, investigations have been carried out by Bursa Uludağ University under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye and by Bursa Metropolitan Municipality. This year’s campaign is also being carried out by researchers from the University of Calabria and the University of Catanzaro Magna Graecia of Italy.
According to excavation director Professor Mustafa Şahin, the main objective of the 2026 season has been to locate the small church mentioned in historical sources as the site of the First Council of Nicaea.
A breakthrough came with the discovery that a distinctive floor surface, previously only known in the prothesis (the room where liturgical objects were made) was present beyond the footprint of the later basilica. Archaeologists view this as evidence that the larger church was built over an earlier sanctuary rather than on a previously undiscovered site.
The excavation data indicate that the Church of the Holy Fathers was built after the earthquake of AD 368 on the site of the destroyed Church of Saint Neophytos, probably after AD 380. It was built to honour the bishops who attended the First Council of Nicaea, and gives a tangible connection between the archaeological remains and one of the defining events in early Christianity.
The discoveries also align with the fourth-century historian Eusebius of Caesarea who wrote in his Vita Constantini that the council met in a relatively modest church rather than a monumental basilica. The new foundations and floor surfaces strongly suggest that archaeologists have discovered the structure described in the historical record, said Professor Şahin.
Excavations have also yielded a few smaller finds, such as a gold ring and bronze thimble decorated with palm tree and sword motifs. The artefacts have stylistic similarities with objects from the Umayyad and Abbasid periods and may support historical accounts that Umayyad forces besieging İznik in AD 729 visited the Church of the Holy Fathers.
Research is still ongoing in the central nave of the basilica, where archaeologists hope to clarify the building’s architectural order. The burials with coins dating back to Roman emperors Valens and Valentinian I were found in previous excavations, and supported the conclusion that the later church was built after AD 380.
The First Council of Nicaea was held by Emperor Constantine I to bring together bishops from the Roman Empire to resolve theological conflicts in the early Church. The Nicene Creed and the precedents in this meeting place profoundly influenced Christian theology, and the location of that meeting place is one of the major archaeological questions to understand the history of early Christianity.
The interpretation of this remains to be established and further excavation and analysis is needed, but the new discoveries are the strongest archaeological evidence for the location of the church in which the First Council of Nicaea was held.
Header Image Credit : AA
Sources : Turkiye Today
