historical commemoration of the Council of Nicaea

This was the primary reason for the trip of the head of the Catholic Church to Turkey: to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the first ecumenical council in history, held in 325 in Nicaea, today’s Iznik. There, representatives from the various regions of the Christian world had converged to agree on the nature of Christ, “consubstantial with the Father.” They also agreed on a common date for Easter.

The commemoration of this council therefore took place this Friday, November 28, in the presence of Pope Leo XIV, the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I and representatives of other branches of Christianity. This celebration was held on a platform above the ruins of a recently rediscovered basilica which is considered to be the meeting place of the council of 325.

Wearing the red mosette over his white cassock, Pope Leo XIV delivered a relatively short speech in English on this occasion. Nicaea, he declared, recalls that Christians of different confessions share the same “confession of Christological faith”, namely “faith in God who, in Jesus Christ, became like us to make us participants in the divine nature”. This shared faith is thus “fundamental” for working towards unity between Christians.

“How good it is for brothers to live together!”

For the leader of the Catholic world, this “deep bond” must make it possible to “overcome the scandal of divisions which unfortunately still exist”. “The more we are reconciled, the more we Christians can bear credible witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” insisted Leo XIV. And this “reconciliation” is all the more urgent for him because it is a “call that comes from all humanity afflicted by conflicts and violence.”

Speaking before the Bishop of Rome, as the inviting power, the Ecumenical Patriarch also urged rapprochement between Christians. “See how good it is and how sweet it is for brothers to live together in unity!”, he said to greet the different Christian delegations present.

“Despite the many centuries that have passed, the uprisings and the divisions brought by the centuries,” said the Orthodox Patriarch, also speaking in the language of Shakespeare, “we return to this source of the Christian faith to be able to move forward.” “Let us go with eagerness on the path of Christian unity which has been drawn before us, (…) let us hope together to the end for the grace promised by Jesus Christ (…) so that with one mind we can confess, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”, further encouraged Bartholomew I.

Other ecumenical steps

Although this ceremony marked the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, it was not the last stage of Leo XIV’s ecumenical journey in Türkiye. Saturday November 29, he will go to a Syriac Orthodox church then to the headquarters of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to sign a joint declaration with Bartholomew I.

He will meet the latter again the next day for the feast of Saint Andrew – patron of the patriarchy – and for lunch. The same day, the pope will also visit the Istanbul cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church for a time of prayer.

In the middle of this day, Sunday, November 30, Leo XIV will leave Turkey to join Lebanon, the second and final stage of this first apostolic trip outside Italy since his election on May 8.