The Basilica Church in Lake Iznik: A Journey to Discover the Council Meeting Place

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">Underwater excavations have been continuing since 2016 at the church ruins discovered in Lake Iznik in 2014 and listed among the top ten discoveries of 2014 by the Archaeology Magazine of the Archaeological Institute in United States of America. The church, believed to have been dedicated to Saint Neophytos, was built on the site of the lost Temple of Apollo in Nicaea. According to archaeological evidence, the 1st Council organized by Constantine the Great in 325 AD can have been held in the area where the church is located. The year 2025 coincides with the 1700th anniversary of the meeting where decisions were made that were accepted by almost all Christian denominations. For this reason, the area where the Basilica Church is located is a candidate to become one of the important attractions for religious tourism in 2025.<o:p></o:p></span>