• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Lifeway Research

Lifeway Research

Enlightening today’s church with relevant research and insights

  • Research
  • Insights
  • Resource Library
  • Fast Facts
  • Search

Historic Ancient Church Discovered Under a Lake

Uncategorized | Sep 13, 2018

Nicean church
Photo: Wikipedia

By Aaron Earls

A church from one of the most important sites in all of Christianity has been discovered after going missing for almost 1,300 years.

The ruins of a church building constructed in Nicea was discovered off the shore of Lake Iznik in western Turkey.

Council of Nicea

In A.D. 325, Christian leaders gathered in Nicea to debate the central theological controversy of the time—the nature of Jesus. In the end, the council affirmed that the Son was not like God; the Son was God.

The Nicean Creed, the statement of beliefs resulting from the church council, stated that Jesus and God the Father are “of one substance.”

Shortly after that, a church was built on the shore of the lake in Nicea. In A.D. 740, however, an earthquake struck the area and the ruins of the building sank beneath the water.

Modern-Day Discovery

Mustafa Şahin had been searching the lakeshore since 2006 in attempts to find the church, but he stumbled across the ruins in an unlikely manner.

Local government surveyors showed the head of archaeology at Bursa Uludağ University aerial photos from 2014, and he was shocked to see the church sitting right below the surface of the lake.

“When I first saw the images of the lake, I was quite surprised to see a church structure that clearly,” Şahin told Live Science in an email.

He told The Daily Star that the photography team had been taking photos since 2013 but had never thought of contacting an expert until they resumed photographing the area.

The basilica rests about 10 feet under water and 160 feet from the shore.

Divers have been searching the submerged building and have uncovered human graves and several Roman coins.

Şahin told Fox News the coins from the reigns of Valens (A.D. 364-378) and Valentinian II (A.D. 375-392) show the basilica was built after A.D. 390.

He believes the church was dedicated to Neophytos, a 16-year-old Christian martyr who was killed in Nicea in A.D. 303.

In fact, Şahin said the church could mark the very place the teenager was martyred.

The site could potentially become the first underwater museum in Turkey.

AARON EARLS (@WardrobeDoor) is online editor of Facts & Trends.

Dig Deeper at Lifeway.com

Know the Creeds and Councils

Justin S. Holcomb

FIND OUT MORE

Related posts:

Why We’re Still Confronting the Same Christmas Heresy as St. Nick Christmas Celebrates a Historical Event, Americans Say How to Hold Faith and Feelings in Balance The Answer for Loneliness in Ministry

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us On…

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Popular

  • 7 in 10 Women Who Have Had an Abortion Identify as a Christian
  • Most Popular Sermon Passages, Topics in 2021
  • 7 Reasons to Praise the Lord
    praise
  • 4 Ways Pastors Can Reclaim Their Time

Join the Lifeway Research Newsletter

Lifeway Research: Enlightening Today’s Church with Relevant Insights.

Signup for email updates on our church and culture research.

Sign Up

Leader Resources

Bible
Clip Art
Classics
Clip Art
Current Events
Clip Art
Discipleship
Clip Art
Pastoral Ministy
Clip Art
Theology
Clip Art
VIEW ALL RESOURCES
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Custom Research
  • Resource Library
  • Search

Copyright © 2022 · Lifeway Research, a ministry of Lifeway Christian Resources