Last updated 17 April 2017


The Council of Nicaea

The Council of Nicaea

Series Episode Number: 71

First Broadcast: Sun 31 Jul 2005 - ~8:00pm UTC (United Kingdom)
Running Time: 107 minutes 49 seconds


Recorded on Mon 18 Apr 2005 in The Moat Studios



The year is 325AD. In the city of Nicaea, the first great Church council, called by the Roman Emperor Constantine, is due to begin. Here theology, philosophy and politics will be brought together for millennia to come.

The Doctor, Peri and Erimem are there simply to watch events unfold. Gaps remain in the history books, and the Doctor has come to satisfy his curiosity. But none of them are ready for what greets them in Nicaea. Intrigue within the Imperial Palace has become violence on the streets. Mobs roam the alleyways and blood is spilt in the name of faith. Even in the face of murder and injustice though, the time travellers must force themselves to stay aloof. This is history, after all.

Yet what is history to one person is the future to another. Is it possible for history to be rewritten? And if it can, can the Doctor afford to let it?