Pope joins patriarchs at historic Christian site in Turkey to commemorate creed and pray for unity

IZNIK, Turkey — Pope Leo XIV joined Orthodox patriarchs and ecumenical leaders Friday in commemorating an important moment in Christian history, gathering at the site in Turkey of an unprecedented A.D.

IZNIK, Turkey — Pope Leo XIV joined Orthodox patriarchs and ecumenical leaders Friday in commemorating an important moment in Christian history, gathering at the site in Turkey of an unprecedented A.D. 325 meeting of bishops to pray that Christians might once again be reunited.

Leo, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and other Christian leaders met on the shores of Lake Iznik, the site of the Council of Nicaea that produced a creed, or statement of faith, that is still recited by millions of Christians today.

Leo flew by helicopter to Iznik from Istanbul to take part in an ecumenical prayer to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicaea meeting, the highlight of his visit to Turkey. He arrived just after the Muslim call to prayer rang out from a nearby mosque.

The Nicaea gathering happened at a time when the Eastern and Western churches were still united. They split in the Great Schism of 1054, a divide precipitated largely by disagreements over the primacy of the pope. But even today, Catholic, Orthodox and most historic Protestant groups accept the Nicaean Creed, making it a point of agreement and the most widely accepted creed in Christendom.

As a result, celebrating its origins at the site of its creation with the spiritual leaders of the Catholic and Orthodox churches and other Christian representatives marked a historic moment in the centuries-old quest to reunite all Christians.