On the misty shores of Lake Iznik in Turkey, history and hope intertwined as Pope Leo XIV and a remarkable assembly of Christian leaders gathered on November 28, 2025, to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea. The event, held at the archaeological site of the ancient Basilica of Saint Neophytos—now partially submerged after an earthquake centuries ago—became a powerful symbol of both Christianity’s enduring legacy and its ongoing struggle for unity.
According to Catholic News Service, the ecumenical prayer service was hosted by Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. The gathering included not only the Greek Orthodox patriarchs of Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem or their representatives, but also leaders from other Orthodox, Anglican, and Protestant churches. In total, twenty-seven heads of Churches and Christian communities participated in what many described as one of the most symbolically charged ecumenical moments of Pope Leo’s pontificate.
The setting itself was evocative: a platform overlooking the ruins of the Basilica of St. Neophytos, a church dedicated to a young martyr killed during the Diocletian persecutions in 303. The basilica’s outline, revealed only in 2014 through aerial photography, lies beneath the waters of Lake Iznik, southeast of Istanbul. As reported by ACI Africa, the ruins—collapsed in an earthquake in 740—served as a poignant reminder of both the fragility and endurance of Christian witness.
The heart of the service was the joint recitation of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, the statement of faith first articulated at Nicaea in 325 A.D. and refined at Constantinople in 381. The leaders recited the Creed in English, using the original Greek form and notably omitting the so-called "Filioque" clause—the phrase "and the Son"—which had been added to the Latin version in 1014 but is not part of the Eastern tradition. As Catholic News Service explained, the omission was not accidental: recent popes, including Benedict XVI, Francis, and now Leo XIV, have all omitted the phrase during ecumenical services, respecting Orthodox sensitivities and the ongoing dialogue between East and West.
Patriarch Bartholomew, welcoming the pope and the other guests, set the tone for the gathering. "Despite so many intervening centuries and all the upheavals, difficulties and divisions they have brought, we nevertheless approach this sacred commemoration with shared reverence and a common feeling of hope," he said. "The power of this place does not reside in what passes away, but in what endures forever."
Pope Leo XIV, in his prepared address, echoed the patriarch’s themes. He thanked Bartholomew for his "great wisdom and foresight" in convening the gathering. Reflecting on the Council of Nicaea’s defense of Christ’s full divinity against the ancient heresy of Arianism, the pope insisted that the confession of Christ as "consubstantial with the Father" remains a vital point of unity for Christians worldwide. "This question is especially important for Christians, who risk reducing Jesus Christ to a kind of charismatic leader or superman, a misrepresentation that ultimately leads to sadness and confusion," Pope Leo warned. "But if God did not become man, how can mortal creatures participate in his immortal life?"
The joint prayers—alternating in English, Greek, and Arabic—were accompanied by choirs singing in Latin and Greek. The leaders lit candles together before icons of Christ and the council, a gesture rich in symbolism. Yet, as Catholic News Service reported, one major Orthodox body was conspicuously absent: the Russian Orthodox Church. The Russian Church broke relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2018 over the recognition of the autonomy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a schism that continues to reverberate through global Orthodoxy.
Beyond the pageantry, the event was freighted with theological and ecclesial significance. As Catholic News Service and other outlets noted, the omission of the Filioque was not a change in Catholic dogma—Pope Leo has not repudiated the councils of Florence or Lyons, nor the consistent Latin tradition. Rather, the gesture was a symbol of the Church’s ongoing effort to balance unity and doctrinal truth. The pope’s recent apostolic letter, In Unitate Fidei, published just days before the event, explicitly referenced the Creed’s Eastern form and acknowledged that the Filioque remains "a subject of Orthodox-Catholic dialogue."
For many Catholics, the pope’s decision to recite the Creed in its non-Filioque form in Nicaea itself was a moment of both hope and anxiety. As one analysis put it, "When the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch recite together ‘the Holy Spirit … who proceeds from the Father’, while omitting the Latin tradition’s confession ‘and the Son’, the gesture is immediately read not merely as hospitality but as a theological signal." The West has long confessed the Spirit’s procession as "from the Father and the Son", a pillar of Western Trinitarian theology defended by saints and councils alike. Pope Leo I, back in 447, even called denial of the double procession an "impious" error. Yet, in the spirit of dialogue and reconciliation, the pope in Iznik chose the Eastern formula—an act that some see as a necessary step toward healing, others as a cause for caution.
Still, the pope was clear about the stakes. "The desire for full communion among all believers in Jesus Christ is always accompanied by the search for fraternity among all human beings," he said. "In the Nicene Creed, we profess our faith ‘in one God, the Father.’ Yet, it would not be possible to invoke God as Father if we refused to recognize as brothers and sisters all other men and women, who are created in the image of God."
He went further, addressing the violence and conflict that mar the world today. "We must strongly reject the use of religion for justifying war, violence or any form of fundamentalism or fanaticism," Pope Leo declared. "Instead, the paths to follow are those of fraternal encounter, dialogue and cooperation."
Patriarch Bartholomew, for his part, urged the leaders to let "the fervor of the faith of Nicaea" inspire them to continue "the course of Christian unity in fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer for the unity of his disciples." He concluded, "Let us love one another that with one mind we may confess: Father, Son and Holy Spirit—Trinity consubstantial and undivided."
The gathering at Iznik was more than a commemoration. It was a living sign of the Church’s ongoing journey—sometimes halting, sometimes bold—toward unity in truth and charity. For all the unresolved questions and lingering divisions, the sight of Christian leaders praying together on the site where the Creed was born offered a glimpse of hope that, even in a fractured world, the faith that endures can still bring people together.
