The first Council of Nicaea, held in the city of Nicea in 325, became an important milestone in the history of Christianity. Today the ancient city of Nicaea is located in Turkey and is called Iznik. But the fate of the church, where the famous meeting of church patriarchs was held, remained unknown for a long time. And now the Turkish archaeologist Mustafa Shahin, who has devoted many years to the search, has nevertheless discovered the remains of the cathedral at the bottom of Lake Askania.
The first Council of Nicea, held in 325 AD in the city of Nicea, now Iznik, became a significant milestone in the history of Christianity. It was at this cathedral, assembled by Emperor Costantin I, the first Roman Christian emperor, that the separation of Christianity from Judaism was finally proclaimed and the dates for celebrating Christian Easter were determined. However, the fate of the building itself, where the Nicene Cathedral was held, remained a mystery for a long time. And so the archaeologist from Turkey Mustafa Shahin, after a long search, finally hit his trail. Aerial photographs from Bursa provincial authorities have shown that one of the most historically significant churches in Christian history appears to be under water, in Lake Askania near Iznik.
“As it turned out, the mayor's office of Bursa has been conducting regular aerial surveys of Lake Askania since 2013, but they did not even think to call experts to analyze the materials,” says Mustaa Shahin. - Only after the next stage of aerial filming, one of the members of the film crew, Saffet Ilmaz, called me and asked what kind of structure could be under water. When I examined the footage, I saw the silhouette of a building that clearly resembled a church. I have been doing research at Iznik since 2006 and have never found anything so great."
Mustafa ahin believes that the church was built on the site where Saint Neophytos, one of the revered Christian saints, was killed in 303. Earlier, in its place was the building of the Senate, where, probably, the First Council of Nicaea was held.
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The first Council of Nicaea became a significant milestone in the history of Christianity. Thus, the church hierarchs who participated in it discussed the nature of Christ and his creation by God, and also established the dating of the celebration of Easter. This was done at the insistence of Emperor Constantine I, who believed that the common date for Easter was useful for uniting the Christian world. In addition, the Nicene Creed was formulated by the Council of Nicea, a prayer formulation still used in Catholic worship.
There is an opinion that under the building of the church found under the waters of Lake Askania there are the remains of a Greek temple that once stood in its place, dedicated to Apollo, the Greek god, who in the era of early Christianity was often associated with Christ.
In the end, the church building that left such a noticeable mark on history was destroyed by an earthquake in 740 and disappeared into the waters of the lake.
Now a team of archaeologists is already excavating at the site of the ancient temple. “The ruins are 2-3 meters below the surface of the water, 50 meters from the coast,” says Mustafa Shahin. - The most difficult part of underwater excavation is the lack of visibility, which sometimes drops to 10 centimeters due to algae and plankton. Another problem is silt, which constantly rises from the bottom during excavations."
To avoid the need to work in muddy waters in the absence of visibility, archaeologists raise the bottom silty layer of soil to the surface and sift it there.
Now Mustafa ahin proposes to open the first underwater museum in Turkey on the site of an ancient church buried under water.
According to the archeologist, the museum complex will include a specially built 20-meter tower, from which it will be possible to look at the ruins from the shore, a bridge over the lake and an underwater room covered with glass in the church nave, where believers can pray. A diving club will also be open here, organizing descents directly to the ruins of the church with scuba diving.
According to Mustafa Shahin, the museum may be ready to open as early as 2019. Probably, there will be presented artifacts from the era of the First Nicene Cathedral.
“There is no need to wait until the end of the excavation to open the museum,” says Mustafa Shahin. "With our method of excavation, visitors will not be an obstacle to the work."