Pope Francis told a group of theologians yesterday he plans to visit Turkey next year for the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. Source: CNA.
Bartholomew I, the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, anticipated that Francis would be making the trip in comments to reporters in May.
In September, he confirmed that the joint trip is expected to happen at the end of May 2025.
The Council of Nicaea took place in the ancient city of Nicaea in 325 AD in the former Roman Empire, which is now the present-day city of İznik, in northwestern Turkey, about 110 kilometres from Istanbul.
“I plan to go there,” Pope Francis told members of the International Theological Commission yesterday.
The Council of Nicaea, he said, “constitutes a milestone in the journey of the Church and also of all humanity, because faith in Jesus, the Son of God made flesh for us and for our salvation, was formulated and professed as a light that illuminates the meaning of reality and the destiny of all history”.
Pope Francis met with the International Theological Commission during its plenary gathering at the Vatican. He said it was important that the commission’s meeting includes drafting a document about “the current meaning of the faith professed at Nicaea”.
“Such a document may be valuable, in the course of the Jubilee year, to nourish and deepen the faith of believers and, starting from the figure of Jesus, also offer insights and reflections useful for a new cultural and social paradigm, inspired precisely by the humanity of Christ,” he said.
The Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical council in the Church. It is accepted by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Church, and other Christian communities that accept the validity of early church councils.
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Pope Francis confirms plans to visit Turkey for historic Nicaea council anniversary (By Hannah Brockhaus, CNA)
