The Pope Leo XIV traveled this Friday to Iznik to commemorate the 1,700 years of the First Council of Nicaea, from where he asked for the reconciliation of Christians “in a dramatic time in many ways”, during his first international trip to Turkey.
Leo XIV traveled by helicopter to this city, which has become a center of pilgrimage for Christians and where the first ecumenical council of Christianity was held in 325.
On that date, more than 300 bishops convened by the Roman emperor Constantine and arriving from all over met to end their differences and lay the foundations for the dogma of the divinity of Jesus: a historic moment of union followed by centuries of schisms that last until now.
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“In a dramatic era in many ways, in which people are subjected to countless threats to their own dignity, the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea is a valuable occasion to ask ourselves who Jesus Christ is in the lives of women and men today, who he is for each of us,” said the Pope.
From the platform placed in the archaeological zone where years ago the remains of the basilica of San Neófito were discovered, built where the Council is believed to have been held, the pontiff added: “We are all invited to overcome the scandal of the divisions that, unfortunately, still exist and to feed the desire for unity for which the Lord Jesus prayed and gave his life”
“The more reconciled we are, the more we Christians will be able to give a credible testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is a message of hope for all, a message of peace and universal fraternity that transcends the borders of our communities and nations,” said the Pope, quoting Francis.
“Reconciliation is today a call that arises from all humanity afflicted by conflicts and violence. The desire for full communion among all believers in Jesus Christ is always accompanied by the search for fraternity among all human beings,” he added.
In the Nicene Creed – the one that emerged from this first council and that was recited this Friday in Iznik at the end of the ceremony – “it would not be possible to invoke God as Father if we refused to recognize other men and women as brothers and sisters, also created in the image of God,” the Pope indicated.
“There is a universal brotherhood, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, religion or opinion,” he emphasized, surrounded by Orthodox patriarchs and other branches of Christianity.
Without the presence of the Russian Orthodox
Leo XIV asserted that “the use of religion to justify war and violence, like any form of fundamentalism and fanaticism, must be firmly rejected, while the paths to follow are those of fraternal encounter, dialogue and collaboration.”
The Pope thanked the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, ‘Primus Inter Pares’, spiritual leader of more than 300 million Orthodox Christians, as he decided to “commemorate together the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea”, and the rest of the patriarchs of the Churches and representatives of the world Christian communions who have accepted the invitation to participate in this event.
However, there was no representation of the Russian Orthodox nor their leader, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, head of the largest church numerically with about 140 million, as they are completely divided and have not maintained relations for years.
They also broke with the Vatican despite the approaches attempted by Pope Francis and the situation has worsened with Cyril’s support for the war in Ukraine.
