Today in Nicaea (İznik), His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and His Holiness Pope Leo XIV are standing side by side on the lakeshore, at the ruins of the ancient basilica of Saint Neophytos, in an ecumenical service of prayer. Together they are commemorating the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, the gathering in 325 A.D. that forged the Nicene Creed and gave the Church its foundational confession of faith in Christ. The two primates are surrounded by hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and faithful as the words of that same creed are proclaimed in the open air where the bishops of the early Church once wrestled over the mystery of the Incarnate Word.
Photo by Orthodox Observer/Huseyin AldemirTheir common prayer is deliberately more than a historical reenactment. By returning to Nicaea, the Ecumenical Patriarch and Pope are lifting up the creed as the shared heartbeat of Orthodox and Catholic believers, a reminder that, despite a millennium of division, East and West still confess one Lord, one faith, one baptism. The submerged foundations of the basilica beneath the waters of the lake become a powerful symbol: the original unity of the Church may be partially hidden by history, but it has never been destroyed. Today’s service asks whether that unity can once again emerge into view.
Photo by Orthodox Observer/Huseyin AldemirThis commemoration in Nicaea (İznik) is also the first great ecumenical test of Pope Leo’s pontificate, coming so soon after the repose of Pope Francis and the election of a new Bishop of Rome. By choosing to make his first international journey a pilgrimage to the site of the First Council and then to Constantinople, and to do so in close fraternity with the Ecumenical Patriarch, Pope Leo XIV signals that he intends not only to inherit but to advance the “dialogue of love” and the “dialogue of truth” that have marked Orthodox–Catholic relations since Athenagoras and Paul VI. His presence beside the Ecumenical Patriarch, in prayer rather than in negotiation, shows that any future progress toward unity must begin where Nicaea itself began: on their knees before the same Lord.
Photo by Orthodox Observer/Huseyin AldemirAmong those taking part in today’s celebration is His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, who stands with the Ecumenical Patriarchal delegation as a visible link between the Phanar and the faithful in the United States. His presence, together with representatives of the other ancient patriarchal sees, turns the gathering into a living icon of the Church in her oneness. As we also commemorate the 20th anniversary of Archbishop Iakovos’s repose in the Lord, we continue to see the mark of his prophetic leadership in the rapprochement between Orthodox and Catholics. During this time of prayer at İznik, may the churches embrace the spirit of Nicaea by speaking with one voice, witnessing with one heart and confessing with one mind the mystery of the incarnate God.
Photo by Ecumenical Patriarchate/Nikos Papachristou
