Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 17, 2024 / 18:04 pm
Pope Francis might be traveling to Turkey next year for the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicea, according to Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew in comments he made on Thursday.
Although the Holy See has not confirmed any travel plans, the ecumenical patriarch told a group of reporters that a committee is being established to organize a visit, according to the Orthodox Times. The referenced council took place in the ancient city of Nicea in 325 A.D. in the former Roman Empire, which is now the present-day city of İznik in Turkey.
“His Holiness Pope Francis wishes for us to jointly celebrate this important anniversary,” Bartholomew said.
The Council of Nicea 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. It predates the Chalcedonian Schism — which separated the Oriental Orthodox communion from Rome — by more than 100 years and predates the Great Schism — which separated the Eastern Orthodox Church from Rome — by more than 700 years.
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