Pope Leo XIV joins Patriarch Bartholomew in Turkey to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, a key Christian milestone.
ISTANBUL: Pope Leo XIV will join the leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians on Friday to jointly celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of one of the early Church’s most important gatherings.
The American pope is on the second day of his four-day visit to Turkey, his first overseas trip since becoming pontiff.
On Thursday, he held talks in Ankara with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, urging Turkey to embrace its role as a mediator in a world gripped by conflict.
“Mr President, may Turkey be a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples, in service of a just and lasting peace,” the pope told the Turkish leader.
He noted that Turkey is “inextricably linked to the origins of Christianity” before flying to Istanbul for the remainder of his visit.
On Friday, the 70-year-old pontiff will join Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople for an ecumenical prayer service in Iznik.
The service will overlook the ruins of a 4th-century basilica built where the First Council of Nicaea took place.
That council of bishops produced a foundational statement of Christian faith that remains central to Christianity today.
Despite the Great Schism of 1054 that split the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, the two leaders maintain dialogue and hold joint celebrations.
They have recently made efforts to find a common date for Easter, which the two churches currently celebrate on different dates.
“When the world is troubled and divided by conflict and antagonism, our meeting with Pope Leo XIV is especially significant,” Patriarch Bartholomew told AFP.
“It reminds our faithful that we are more powerful and more credible when we are united in our witness and response to the challenges of the contemporary world.”
The pope’s trip comes as the Orthodox world appears more fragmented than ever, particularly due to the war in Ukraine.
The Moscow Patriarchate cut ties with Bartholomew in 2018 after he recognised the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s independence from Russia.
Although Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church was not invited to the Iznik celebration, Pope Leo must tread carefully to avoid irritating Moscow.
Russia fears the Vatican could bolster Constantinople’s primacy in the Orthodox world, further eroding Russia’s influence.
Pope Leo is the fifth pontiff to visit Turkey, following Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. – AFP
