Pope Leo XIV gathered on Friday with Eastern and Western Christian leaders on the shores of Lake Iznik in northwestern Turkey, marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea with a joint prayer for unity. Standing above the exposed foundations of the ancient Basilica of Saint Neophytos, the pope, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and other patriarchs and bishops recited the creed first adopted at Nicaea in A.D. 325, a profession of faith still used by millions of Christians worldwide.
The gathering was the centerpiece of Leo’s first foreign trip as pope, which began in Istanbul and will later take him to Lebanon. Organizers chose Iznik to highlight the shared roots of Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. In his remarks, Leo described the creed as a guidepost on the path toward “full communion” among Christians, while Bartholomew, spiritual head of the world’s Eastern Orthodox Christians, said the Nicene formula functions like a seed for the whole of Christian life.
Remembering A Turning Point In Christian History
The Council of Nicaea was convened by Roman Emperor Constantine after he consolidated power in the empire. Bishops from across the Roman world gathered to address theological disputes and to produce what would become the Nicene Creed, beginning with the affirmation: “I believe in one God, the Father almighty.” At that time the Christian church was still formally united; the split between Eastern and Western churches, known as the Great Schism of 1054, would not occur for more than seven centuries.
Today, the Nicene Creed is one of the few symbols of faith accepted by Catholic, Orthodox and most historic Protestant communities, making it a rare point of broad doctrinal agreement. For church leaders, commemorating the council’s creed at its original site, in the presence of both the pope and the ecumenical patriarch, was intended as a gesture in the effort to heal centuries-old divisions. During the lakeside ceremony, alternating Catholic and Orthodox hymns accompanied prayers that emphasized reconciliation and the rejection of religious violence.
Leo warned against invoking faith to justify war, extremism or “any form of fundamentalism,” urging dialogue, cooperation and what he called “fraternal encounter” as the authentic Christian response to conflict.
Minority Christians And Local Tensions In Turkey
Christians represent only a tiny fraction of Turkey’s approximately 85 million people, the majority of whom are Sunni Muslims. According to Vatican figures, the Catholic community numbers around 33,000, scattered mainly in the country’s largest cities. Earlier in the day, Leo met clergy and laypeople at Istanbul’s Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, encouraging them to see their small size as a strength and praising their work with migrants and refugees, whom he described as among the most vulnerable people in the country.
Not all Turks welcomed the high-profile Christian gathering. Shortly before the prayer service in Iznik, about 20 members of the small New Welfare Party staged a demonstration, denouncing the event as a threat to Turkey’s sovereignty and accusing organizers of seeking to establish a “Vatican-style Greek Orthodox state.” The protest, held under a heavy police presence, ended peacefully after party representatives read a statement to reporters. Other residents said they acknowledged Iznik’s special place in Christian history but were divided over the symbolism of a papal visit.
Support For Turkey’s Small Catholic Community
Beyond the symbolic prayer at Nicaea, the trip has also served as a pastoral visit. Leo spent time with the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order that runs a nursing home in Istanbul, where nuns described him as informal and attentive as he greeted residents and staff. In a country where Catholic institutions operate largely out of the spotlight, such encounters were seen as an important gesture of support.
The pope is scheduled to continue his ecumenical and interfaith outreach over the weekend, including further meetings with Bartholomew and other Christian leaders, a visit to Istanbul’s Sultan Ahmed Mosque and a public Mass at Volkswagen Arena. From Turkey, Leo will travel on to Lebanon, a country with its own complex mix of Christian and Muslim communities, for the final leg of his journey.
