Nicea Pilgrim Token!
In May of 2025 we visited Iznik Turkey where a basilica was recently discovered. It is thought that the basilica is the site of The First Ecumenical Council (325AD). It was at that council that the Nicene Creed was developed to combat heresy. This year (2025) marked the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed.
In our research of the area we discovered that in a local museum there is a pilgrim token on display from the site. The following describes the token and its importance: “In 2018 excavators at the basilica discovered a terracotta token....The obverse [front side] depicts Christ Pantocrator (Ruler of All), seated on a throne with a cross behind his head. His right hand is raised, offering a blessing, and his left hand holds a copy of the scriptures laid on his lap...the token was a souvenir given or purchased by a pilgrim that visited the Site... The discovery of the token confirms that the site was a place of pilgrimage, either to celebrate the life of Neophytos or to remember the First Council of Nicaea." The Underwater Basilica Of Nicaea, Mark R. Fairchild, 2024
We took pictures of the token during our site visit. And as soon as I saw it I thought that it would be so cool to have one on my desk at work! And so began my search of how to have one made!
I started making calls and after some persistence finally stumbled upon a local potter who with the help of a family friend 3D printed the token from the pictures we sent. She then created a plaster mold from the 3D token to press or make individual terracotta tokens. Finally, she fired them in her kiln. She graciously made me 25 tokens!
And now one sits on my desk at work!
Margery and I had fun sharing the replica tokens with the small group who visited the archeological sites in Nicea with us. It was a great day of faith, history, exploring and archeology. I think we all felt like we were pilgrims.
#nicenecreed #iznik #biblicalarchaeology
