In the early eighth century, the bishop of Nicea asked Gregory of Caesarea to write a narrative description of the first council. This request was probably made because Gregory still had the notes of Eusebius that were kept at Caesarea. Known as the Laudation of the 318 Fathers, the document was sent to Nicea to celebrate and remember this important event. The Laudation refers to an earlier source that listed the council’s attendees, including bishops Chrysanthus and Musonius, who both died during the two months the council was in session. Intriguingly, the source stated that both were buried “in the church” where the council met.
The Life of Constantine, written by an anonymous author a century later, also mentions Chrysanthus and Musonius. Like the Laudation, it relates that these bishops attended the council and passed away during the proceedings. However, the text adds a hagiographic story: Once the Nicene Creed had been agreed upon and signed by the attendees, the document was placed overnight on the tombs of the deceased saints. The next day, the document was retrieved with the miraculous signatures of the two bishops.
Could two of the tombs found at the underwater basilica in Nicea be the burials of Chrysanthus and Musonius, where these miraculous events allegedly took place? Perhaps future study of the 18 burials found inside the church will resolve this question as well.
