Celebrate the 1700th Anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in 2025

Dr. Mark Wilson is the founder and director of the Asia Minor Research Center in Antalya, Turkey, a country in which he and his wife Dindy have lived since 2004. He received a D.Litt. et Phil. from the University of South Africa (Pretoria) where he serves as a Research Fellow in Biblical Archaeology. He is a Visiting Professor of Early Christianity at Regent University and also Professor Extraordinary Discipline Group Old & New Testament at Stellenbosch University. Mark regularly leads study trips for the Biblical Archaeology Society to Turkey, Cyprus, and Greece. He also blogs periodically for Bible History Daily. He is the author and editor of numerous books, articles, and reviews including Biblical Turkey: A Guide to the Jewish and Christian Sites of Asia Minor. His particular research interest is the ancient Jewish communities, Roman roads, and Biblical routes in Turkey. Mark has been married to Dindy for thirty-nine years; they have four adult children, four grandsons and four granddaughters.

Dr. Fairchild received his Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from Drew University. He also completed Ph.D. coursework at Union Theological Seminary (NY) and Princeton Theological Seminary. Dr. Fairchild has twice received research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 1992, he collaborated with 11 other scholars at Yeshiva University exploring the Greek encounter with Judaism during the Hellenistic Period. In 2002, he joined 20 other scholars at the University of Chicago to investigate societal transformations and the legitimization of power in the early Islamic states.

Fairchild’s recent discovery of two previously unknown ancient synagogues in Turkey (including the world’s oldest known synagogue) was published in the Biblical Archaeology Review in 2012. Research at this ancient synagogue was also published in the Journal of Ancient Judaism in 2014. The Biblical Archaeology Review also published Fairchild’s research on St. Paul’s first mission from Perga to Antioch (2013) and another article on the biblical city of Laodicea (2017). Fairchild’s book on Christian Origins in Ephesus and Asia Minor (originally published in 2015) has been expanded and a second edition is currently available with Hendrickson Publishers (2017).

Dr. Fairchild is currently the Program Director for the Ephesus Meeting, an academic conference at the ancient site of Ephesus in Turkey. He annually travels to Turkey, Greece, Israel, Egypt and Jordan for research and to conduct study tours.

Dr. Thompson served as Professor of History at Wisconsin Lutheran College from 2002 to 2011 when he moved to Hong Kong to join the faculty of Asia Lutheran Seminary. He served as the Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament and Historical Theology there until his retirement in 2019. After graduating from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary with an M.Div. degree in 1977, he spent six years in Lusaka, Zambia where he served as a pastoral advisor for numerous churches and a teacher at the Bible Institute and Seminary of the Lutheran Church of Central Africa. He moved with his family to New York City in 1983 when he enrolled at Columbia University. There he earned his M.A., M.Phil, and Ph.D. (1990) degrees in ancient history while starting and pastoring a Lutheran congregation in Manhattan. From 1992 to 1997 he served on the faculty of Michigan Lutheran Seminary (Saginaw, MI). He served as director of the Multi-Ethnic Pre-Seminary Program based at Martin Luther College (New Ulm, MN) from 1997-2002. 

Douglas Jacoby is a Bible teacher who has served as a minister on church staff for 20 years, in London, Birmingham, Sydney, Stockholm, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, and Washington DC, Douglas. Since 2003 he has worked as a freelance teacher and consultant.

Douglas has engaged in a number of public debates (Islam, atheism, theology, Judaism). He also serves an adjunct professor of theology at Lincoln Christian University and professor of theology in the Rocky Mountain School of Theology and Ministry. With degrees from Drew, Harvard, and Duke, Douglas has written 35 books, recorded nearly 900 podcasts, and spoken in over 100 universities, and in over 500 cities, in 126 nations around the world. Douglas has led 25 tours to the biblical world. The Jacobys have three adult children. Douglas and his wife, Vicki, reside in Edinburgh, Scotland.

David McCabe is Professor of New Testament and Greek at Bethel University, IN. He received a M.A. in Biblical Studies and a M.A. in Theological Studies from Asbury Theological Seminary, and went on to earn his Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from New College, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr. McCabe has taught graduate and undergraduate studies for sixteen years focusing on biblical interpretation, literature, and biblical languages. He has led student and adult study trips to Israel, Greece, and Turkey. His research interests span across a wide range of topics such as biblical literature, material cultures, historical theology, and philosophy of language. Dr. McCabe delights in sharing the experience of reading the Bible in "high-definition" while situated in the lands that gave rise to these sacred texts.

Nazim has a Dept of Tourism degree (University of Ankara at 2000) and is a professionally qualified licensed Turkish tour guide. He is personable, flexible, has a good sense of humor, and always stays abreast of the current affairs. He takes pride in offering a sensitive and professional service at all times.