Pope Francis had been due to make the trip this month, to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, but his ill health forced it to be put on hold.
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV will reportedly visit Nicaea later this year, according to the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.
In details published earlier this week, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I announced details of what might emerge as Pope Leo’s first trip as pontiff. The report from the Ecumenical Patriarchate stated that:
His All-Holiness and the new Pope also agreed to meet together in Nicaea toward the end of November, near the Feast of Saint Andrew, in order to commemorate together the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council, which took place in the year 325. During this historic visit, Pope Leo may also visit the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, at the Phanar in Constantinople.
Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Leo XIV met privately on May 19 at the Vatican, as part of the trip the Patriarch made to the Holy See for Leo’s May 18 inaugural Mass as Pontiff.
Since the Great Schism of 1054, the Eastern Orthodox has broken communion with the See of Rome, and in recent decades ecumenical endeavors have been in place to attempt a healing of the rift. Though the Eastern Orthodox sacraments are valid, the church does not accept papal primacy.
A mutual declaration of excommunication between the Sees of Rome and Constantinople was withdrawn at the close of the Second Vatican Council by Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras.
Pope Francis had been due to make a trip to Nicaea this month, to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. The trip had been billed as being rich in ecumenical significance, with many hoping for a breakthrough in relations, for while Francis was personally friendly with the Patriarch, similar warmth among the Eastern Orthodox faithful was not so widely found.
Once Francis’ ill health took him to hospital in February the trip was placed on hold, and the Vatican has yet to release an official comment on whether Leo will make the voyage in November.
But fostering such a relationship between the East and West appears to be high on Leo’s personal agenda.
Addressing ecumenical delegates in the Vatican on May 19, Leo emphasized his desire for achieving unity between the churches:
My election has taken place during the year of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. That Council represents a milestone in the formulation of the Creed shared by all Churches and Ecclesial Communities. While we are on the journey to re-establishing full communion among all Christians, we recognize that this unity can only be unity in faith.
As Bishop of Rome, I consider one of my priorities to be that of seeking the re-establishment of full and visible communion among all those who profess the same faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
As part of the ecumenical dialogue between Rome and Constantinople, delegations visit the respective sees for their patronal feasts of St. Peter and Paul on June 29 in Rome, and of St. Andrew on November 30 in Istanbul.
In a controversial move in 2019, Pope Francis gave relics of St. Peter to the Patriarch Bartholomew, inciting consternation from Catholics and shock amongst the Eastern Orthodox.
Receiving the relics on behalf of the Patriarch, Archbishop Job said Francis’ gift was “an extraordinary and unexpected event that we did not expect. The relics of the Holy Apostle Peter were always kept in Rome where they were the purpose of pilgrimages.”
Job also highlighted that the pope’s gift was one of his own doing, and had not been subject to a request from the Patriarch:
“The Orthodox Church has never asked for them since they never belonged to the Church of Constantinople. This time, we do not speak of a return of relics to their original place. This time, the relics are being presented as a gift. This prophetic gesture is another huge step on the path to concrete unity.”
As part of the rare coinciding of the date of Easter for all Christians this year, the Vatican backed calls already made by Patriarch Bartholomew to decide upon a common date for Easter – although no indication was given as to whose calendar would prevail in such a venture.
