Nicaea: A Book of Correspondences

by Martin Rowe

The ancient western Anatolian town of Nicaea (now Iznik in modern-day Turkey) was the site of two transforming events in Christian history. The first was a council of the Church in 325 CE that formalized the central doctrines of Christian faith under the aegis of the Roman Empire, while a second council in 787 CE sanctioned the creation of icons, thus facilitating the flourishing of Christian art. This work is an imaginative recreation of what happened at those councils and the characters who have passed through Nicaea through the centuries. Using multiple narrative styles (letters, meditations, Arabic folktales, a Sufi zhikr, prayers and Turkish shadow-puppet theater) that reflect the dazzling diversity of peoples who have been in Nicaea, Nicaea explores the central themes of both faith and political power, individual conscience and collective responsibility, art and truth, and the sacred and profane.

283 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2003

About the author

I am a graduate in English literature and language from Oxford and in religious studies from NYU. In 1999, I co-founded Lantern Books, a publisher of books on vegetarianism, animal advocacy, spirituality, and natural healing. It is now Lantern Publishing & Media, a non-profit publishing company.

I founded a monthly magazine Satya, and was its editor for five and a half years. In 1999, I published The Way of Compassion: Vegetarianism, Environmentalism, Animal Advocacy, and Social Justice. In 2003, I published my novel Nicaea: A Book of Correspondences with Lindisfarne Books.

I'm the co-author of Right Off the Bat: Baseball, Cricket, Literature, and Life; The Polar Bear in the Zoo: A Speculation; The Elephants in the Room: An Excavation; and (with Ruth Heidrich), Lifelong Running. Most recently, I have authored a satirical epic-poem, The Trumpiad, and the poem The Animals Are Leaving Us (with photos by Jo-Anne McArthur). I am also the librettist for a song-cycle (music by Mihoko Suzuki) called And the Hummingbird Says.