An ecumenical service has been held by Christian leaders in Iznik, Turkey, to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.
It was attended by 27 church leaders including Pope Leo XIV, Patriarch Bartholomew who is the spiritual leader of 300 million Eastern Orthodox Christians, and World Council of Churches general secretary Reverend Dr Jerry Pillay, in the town which was known as Nicaea at the time of the early Church.
The first Ecumenical Council in the Church’s history was held there in the year 325.
Emperor Constantine brought bishops from across the Roman Empire to resolve a doctrinal crisis over how to explain Jesus’s relationship to God.
FIRST COUNCIL AFFIRMED JESUS IS ‘OF ONE SUBSTANCE’ WITH GOD
Christians had been persecuted for some 250 years until Constantine allowed the faithful to worship in freedom across the Empire.
The emperor saw a unified Church as essential to stabilising an empire emerging from civil war.
The first council affirmed that Jesus is “of one substance” with the Father.
That language forms the basis of the Nicene Creed recited by Catholics, Anglicans and other Christians today, beginning: “I believe in one God, the Father almighty …”
POPE CALLS ON CHRISTIANS TO BE A MODEL OF RECONCILIATION
The Church leaders noted the show of Christian unity on display at last week’s service, with Pope Leo calling on Christians to be a model of reconciliation in a world marred by divisions.
He recalled that the Council of Nicaea invites all Christians, even today, to ask themselves who Jesus Christ is for them personally.
“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.”
“WHAT WAS AT STAKE AT NICAEA WAS OUR FAITH IN GOD”
“If God did not become man, how can mortal creatures participate in His immortal life?” asked Pope Leo.
“What was at stake at Nicaea, and is at stake today, is our faith in the God who, in Jesus Christ, became like us to make us ‘partakers of the divine nature’.”
The Council of Nicaea, he said, agreed upon the Christological confession we now call the Nicene Creed, which is professed by all Christian Churches.
The Symbol of Faith, as it is known, was of “fundamental importance in the journey that Christians are making towards full communion,” Leo added.
“A PROFOUND BOND ALREADY UNITING ALL CHRISTIANS”
“Faith in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages… consubstantial with the Father’ (Nicene Creed),” Pope Leo declared, “is a profound bond already uniting all Christians.”
“In this way, we are all invited to overcome the scandal of the divisions that unfortunately still exist, to nurture the desire for unity for which the Lord Jesus prayed and gave his life,” the pontiff asserted.
“Today, the whole of humanity afflicted by violence and conflict is crying out for reconciliation.”
“WE BEAR WITNESS TO THE SAME FAITH EXPRESSED BY THE FATHERS OF NICAEA”
Patriarch Bartholomew spoke of the hope expressed through the commemoration at a time of so much conflict and pain in the world.
“We are here to bear living witness to the same faith expressed by the fathers of Nicaea,” he said.
“We return to this wellspring of the Christian faith in order to move forward.”
“The power of this place does not reside in what passes away, but in what endures forever.”
PRAYER FOR UNITY AND JOINT DECLARATION
Reverend Pillay read from John 17, which contains the prayer of Jesus for unity:
“That they all shall be one, just as you, my Father, are in me, and I am in you.”
Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Leo signed a joint declaration giving thanks for the council 1,700 years ago and its continued significance for the present.
“We are convinced that the commemoration of this significant anniversary can inspire new and courageous steps on the path towards unity,” read the declaration.
“GOD WILL NOT ABANDON HUMANITY”
“The goal of Christian unity includes the objective of contributing in a fundamental and life-giving manner to peace among all peoples.”
It goes on to say that they are “deeply alarmed by the current international situation,” but that “we do not lose hope”.
“God will not abandon humanity,” the declaration concluded.
POPE AND PATRIARCH HOLD JOINT SILENT PRAYER
The Church remained mostly united until the Great Schism of 1054, which split Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity over theological disputes and power struggles between Rome and Constantinople – modern day Istanbul.
At the historic site, Pope Leo and Patriarch Bartholomew held a joint silent prayer over the exposed ruins.
Ahead of the anniversary, Leo released an apostolic letter emphasising the creed as a “common heritage of Christians,” written when “the wounds inflicted by the persecutions of Christians were still fresh.”
The exact location of the council was only discovered 11 years ago, when public workers taking aerial photographs of Lake Iznik shared images with Turkish archaeologist Mustafa Sahin.
The original site was under more than two metres of water.
THE NICENE CREED
There are many versions of the Nicene Creed. This is one of them.
We believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten,
begotten of the Father before all ages.
Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not made,
of one essence with the Father by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven,
and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and became man.
And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
and suffered, and was buried.
And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures;
and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father;
and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead;
whose Kingdom shall have no end
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
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