Nicea

Nicea, or Nicaea, was an ancient city in northwestern Asia Minor and the capital of the Roman and Byzantine province of Bithynia. Located on the western shore of Lake İznik, in what is now İznik, Turkey, it was a major urban center with strategic commercial and military importance in antiquity and the medieval period.

The city is best known for hosting the First Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, convened by Emperor Constantine I to resolve the Arian controversy and to establish a unified Christian doctrine. The council produced the Nicene Creed, affirming the divinity of the Son and his consubstantial relationship with the Father, and issued canons addressing church organization, discipline, and practice, including concerns about the date and method of calculating Easter.

Under later Byzantine rule, Nicea remained an important ecclesiastical and commercial center, although its fortunes declined in the medieval era. It eventually came under Ottoman control and was renamed İznik. In present-day Turkey, İznik preserves remnants of its ancient and medieval past, including city walls and other archaeological traces, and is renowned for Iznik pottery, a ceramic tradition associated with the town since medieval times.

Legacy of Nicea extends beyond its physical remains. The term Nicene, the Nicene Creed, and the broader tradition of the Nicene Fathers derive from the council’s theological and ecclesiastical output, making Nicea a significant reference point in the history of Christianity.