Archaeologists pinpoint original 325 AD Nicaea council site

Excavations beneath the ruins of a lakeside palace in İznik, ancient Nicaea, have uncovered remains of the original Temple of St Neophytos. Wall fragments, a tiled floor, a column base and other artifacts provide the strongest evidence yet of the precise location where the First Ecumenical Council convened in 325 AD.

The investigation was led by Professor Mustafa Sahin of Uludağ University in Turkey, together with an international team of scholars. The findings correspond closely with the accounts of Eusebius of Caesarea, who described a modest sanctuary that housed hundreds of bishops. Researchers believe the early temple was destroyed by the 368 AD earthquake and that a later church of the Holy Fathers was erected around 380 AD atop its foundations.

Among the objects recovered are a gold ring and a bead dating to the Oemulid and Abbasid periods, indicating continued use of the site in later centuries. The team plans further analysis to illuminate the architectural evolution of this key Christian monument.