Beneath Lake İznik: New Archaeological Evidence and the Search for the Meeting Place of the First Council of Nicaea

This article examines the submerged early Christian basilica in Lake İznik (ancient Nicaea) and the newly reported archaeological evidence for an earlier church phase beneath the later structure. It evaluates the possibility that this earlier sacred building was connected with the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325, while distinguishing archaeological evidence from later historical interpretation. The study considers the testimony of Eusebius of Caesarea, competing theories concerning the council’s meeting place, the tradition of St Neophytos, the proposed Church of the Holy Fathers, martyr memory, Constantinian Christianity, and the development of Christian sacred space in Roman Anatolia. The article argues that the recent discoveries significantly strengthen the case for an early fourth-century Christian sacred site at the lakeshore, although further archaeological evidence is required before the location can be identified conclusively as a meeting place of the First Council.