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I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “beating a dead horse.” It refers to something that has been said or done so many times that it has outlived its usefulness. This is especially true of arguments that are not only old but also untrue.Like the proverbial horse, the Roman emperor Constantine has been beaten to death by anti-Catholics.I make it a point to check all of the comments posted on our YouTube and Facebook pages at least twice a day. As sure as fish live in water, I have come to expect at least one message a day from a...

This month, 1,700 years ago, was one of the most significant and consequential events in all of Church history. Across the Bosporus Straight from Constantinople, in Nicaea, a Council met to settle a question plaguing the Church: Who, precisely, is Jesus? Their work shaped the future of Christian theology. In the first few centuries after Christ’s resurrection, Jesus was understood in a variety of ways. Only the Gnostics doubted His humanity, arguing that Jesus was a purely spiritual being who only seemed human. Others suggested that Jesus was an angel or archangel, or specifically the Angel of the Lord mentioned...

[Catholic Caucus] The Council of Nicaea and Vatican IIIs there a relationship between the Council of Nicaea, celebrated in the year 325, and the Second Vatican Council, the last of the twenty-one councils recognised as ecumenical, concluded on 8 December 1965?In a letter written on 29 June 1975 to Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who was criticising Vatican II, Pope Paul VI stated that “the Second Vatican Council is no less authoritative, indeed in some respects it is even more important, than the Council of Nicaea” (cf. La Doc. Catholique, 58 (1976) p. 34). The statement left many astonished at the time....

Pope Leo XIV’s Nicaea moment and the missing FilioquePope Leo XIV joined Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Protestant leaders in Turkey this week to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council, marking one of the most symbolically charged ecumenical gatherings of his pontificate.The prayer service, held in modern-day Iznik, which used to be Nicea, brought together twenty-seven heads of Churches and Christian communities in a setting uniquely associated with the earliest definitions of Christian doctrine.During the liturgy, the Pope and the assembled leaders recited the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed in English, using the original Greek form without the Filioque clause. The...

IZNIK, Turkey (AP) — Pope Leo XIV joined Eastern and Western patriarchs and priests Friday in commemorating an important anniversary in Christian history, gathering at the site in Turkey of an unprecedented A.D. 325 meeting of bishops to pray that Christians might once again be united. Leo, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and other Christian leaders met on the shores of Lake Iznik, the site of the Council of Nicaea that produced a creed, or statement of faith, that is still recited by millions of Christians today. Standing over the ruins of the site, the men recited the creed, which Leo...

Today in history, on May 14, 1097, witnessed the first clash between Western Crusaders and Muslim Turks: the siege of Nicaea. In the years following the decisive Battle of Manzikert (1071), which saw the Seljuk Turks defeat the Eastern Roman Empire and conquer that ancient bastion of Christianity, Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), mindboggling atrocities followed. Whether an anonymous Georgian chronicler tells of how “holy churches served as stables for their horses,” the “priests were immolated during the Holy Communion itself,” the “virgins defiled, the youths circumcised, and the infants taken away,” or whether Anna Comnena, the princess at Constantinople, tells of...

The jolly, red-suited Santa Claus who delivers presents on Christmas Eve is a beloved and immediately recognizable figure in much of the world. He is very much a magical, whimsical character, but his origin story has its roots in a real historical person: St. Nicholas of Myra. We know very little of St. Nicholas’ life, but historical evidence does confirm that he was a living, breathing man who lived in the third and fourth centuries CE. While many of the recorded details about St. Nicholas are quite likely embellished — falling more into the realm of myth than reality —...

Today (Dec 6) is the Feast of St. Nicholas. The real St. Nicholas was nothing close to the St. Nick (Santa Claus) of the modern age. He was a thin curmudgeonly man with a zeal for the Lord that caused flairs of anger. Compromise was unknown to him. The slow transformation of him into “Jolly ole’ Saint Nicholas is a remarkable recasting of him centuries in the making. Some years ago the Washington Post featured an article entitled Poles Apart: Nicholas of Myra; How a 4th-Century Bishop Achieved Fame 1,500 Years Later, With a Whole New Attitude.On this feast of...

(snip) As the title suggests, Thomas Asbridge’s The First Crusade: A New History begins at the beginning. The First Crusade was called in 1095 by Pope Urban II in response to an urgent plea for assistance from the Byzantine Empire, the last Christian state in the East. Things had been going badly for Christians for several centuries, ever since the explosion of Muslim warriors out of Arabia in the seventh century. Egypt, Palestine, Syria, North Africa—the core of the Christian world—had been conquered by Muslim jihad warriors and subjected to Islamic rule and law. When Turkish jihad warriors invaded and...

A burial in southeastern Turkey revealed a 35‑square‑meter mosaic with a Greek inscription, marking one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in the region. While preparing a grave in the rural Özbilek neighborhood of Diyarbakır’s Ergani district, locals uncovered the mosaic, which experts believe dates to the late Roman or early Byzantine period. Discovery made during a routine burial The find features elaborate geometric patterns and two striking elements: a six-line inscription in ancient Greek and a Star of David enclosing a Christian cross. Museum officials say this combination of Jewish and Christian iconography is exceptionally rare and could shed...

Where exactly did the Council of Nicea meet in 325? As described in their article "Nicea's Underwater Basilica" in the November/December 2018 issue of BAR, Mustafa Sahin and Mark R. Fairchild have an idea. In 2014, an ancient basilica was discovered 165 feet off the coast of Iznik, submerged 6-10 feet under Lake Askanios. Subsequent survey and excavation headed by Professor Mustafa Sahin of Uludag University determined that this Nicea church had three aisles and a central apse and dated to the late fourth-early fifth century... The floor of the basilica's nave lay 1.6 feet lower than its walls, suggesting...

Summary The Council of Nicea is often misrepresented by cults and other religious movements. The actual concern of the council was clearly and unambiguously the relationship between the Father and the Son. Is Christ a creature, or true God? The council said He was true God. Yet, the opponents of the deity of Christ did not simply give up after the council’s decision. In fact, they almost succeeded in overturning the Nicene affirmation of Christ’s deity. But faithful Christians like Athanasius continued to defend the truth, and in the end, truth triumphed over error. The conversation intensified quickly. “You can’t...

Mark your calendars: In 2025, Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians may return to Nicaea, the spot in modern-day Turkey where Christianity was literally defined. In 325, early followers of Jesus came together to figure out what it means to be a Christian; the goal was to create theological consensus across all of Christendom. This was way before the faith sub-divided into East vs. West, Catholics vs. Protestants, Southern Baptists vs. Primitive Baptists—these were the early days of the religion, when it still seemed like it could be observed as one, united faith. The council's effect on Christianity was huge;...

Pope Francis and Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople have agreed to plan for an ecumenical council to be held in Nicea in 2025, the AsiaNews service reports. Patriarch Bartholomew revealed that he and the Roman Pontiff had “agreed to leave as a legacy to ourselves and our successors a gathering in Nicaea in 2025, to celebrate together, after 17 centuries, the first truly ecumenical synod, where the Creed was first promulgated.” The Council of Nicea, held in 325, brought together over 300 bishops and approved the formula of faith now known as the Nicene Creed.

Archaeologists in Turkey have discovered a third-century mural depicting Jesus as the good shepherd. The mural, which remains in relatively good condition, is the centerpiece of a number of frescoes in an underground tomb in the Hisardere necropolis near the town of Iznik. While Iznik might not be a familiar name to many, its ancient name, Nicaea, may be better known to Christians.

In a startling revelation, Mustafa Uysal, a treasure hunter from Bursa, has claimed to have unearthed an underground city in the Orhangazi district, which he asserts is the true location of the First Council of Nicaea, traditionally believed to have taken place in Iznik. Uysal, who has kept his discovery under wraps for years, is now demanding $50 million to disclose the exact location of this purported archaeological site.Uysal, who turned to treasure hunting after his retirement, stated that his excavations led him to a significant find: an underground city featuring a sarcophagus cemetery and intricate symbols adorning its long...

Archaeologists in Turkey suspect the church may have been built in the year 325, following the First Council of Nicaea.The remains of a 1,600-year-old Byzantine basilica have been discovered at the site of the Councils of Nicaea, at the bottom of a lake in northwest Turkey. “We have found church remains. It is in a basilica plan and has three naves,” said Mustafa Şahin, an archaeology professor at Bursa Uludağ University, told Hurriyet News. Plans are now underway to open an underwater museum to allow tourists to view the foundation of the church, which was found lying in 5-7 feet...

Istanbul (AsiaNews) - On his return from Jerusalem , where he met with Pope Francis at the Holy Sepulchre, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, has revealed an important appointment for unity between Catholics and Orthodox: a gathering at Nicaea in 2025, where the first real ecumenical council of the undivided Church was celebrated. Speaking exclusively with AsiaNews, Bartholomew says that together with Pope Francis "we agreed to leave as a legacy to ourselves and our successors a gathering in Nicaea in 2025, to celebrate together, after 17 centuries , the first truly ecumenical synod, where the Creed was...

To be deep into history, John Henry Newman wrote, is to cease to be a Protestant. Put another way, to be deep into history is to become stronger in the Catholic faith—something we are all called to do in this Year of Faith.To make that journey into the history of our faith is to discover anew its most basic tenets. Who was Jesus really? How can God be three persons in one being? What is the proper role of the Church in salvation? And how does Mary fit into all this?These questions, and many more, were raised and answered in...

The Council of Nicaea and the Bible There seem to be a number of legends about the First Council of Nicaea (325AD) in circulation on the internet, presented as fact.  Some people seem to think that the council, which was the first council of all the Bishops of the Christian Church, either invented the New Testament, or edited it to remove references to reincarnation (or whatever) or burned large numbers of heretical works, or whatever.  These are in error.  This page documents the problem and provides links to all the ancient source material in order to allow everyone to check...