On the 29th of November, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (Orthodox Church) signed a joint declaration reaffirming a commitment to walk towards full communion. The joint declaration was made during an ecumenical pilgrimage in Turkey, which was also Pope Leo’s first international visit.
The ecumencial pilgrimage (27-30 November) encompassed several events, including a service of commemoration of the 1700th anniversary of the first council of Nicaea, which first met in 325 AD and collectively produced a foundational creed to unite all Christians.
Two of the key features of the Joint Declaration are the acknowledgement of the importance of the Nicene Creed as ‘a providential event of unity’ and the 60th anniversary of the historic joint declaration of their predecessors, Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, ‘which extinguished the exchange of excommunications of 1054’.
The joint declaration details the two leaders’ shared commitment to ‘continue to walk with firm determination on the path of dialogue, in love and truth (Eph 4:15), towards the hoped-for restoration of full communion between our sister Churches’, and called for all to ‘be continuously open to the same Holy Spirit who spoke through Nicaea, as we wrestle with the many challenges of our time’.
In addition to advocating for Christian unity, the statement also rejected ‘any use of religion and the name of God to justify violence’ and urged people of ‘good will’ and ‘those who have civil and political responsibilities to do everything possible to ensure that the tragedy of war ceases immediately’.
It also positioned issues of justice and creation care as integral to the Christian message, saying ‘we exhort all men and women of good will to work together to build a more just and supportive world, and to care for creation, which is entrusted to us by God. Only in this way can the human family overcome indifference, desire for domination, greed for profit and xenophobia.’
During the pilgrigmage, Pope Leo XIV and His Holiness Bartholomew I made several visits to churches and sites of spiritual significance across Istanbul, before the Pope continued on to Lebanon. Activities including a tour of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (known as the blue Mosque) as a symbol of open dialogue between faiths, addressing the Volkswagen Arena, attending Divine Liturgy at the Venerable Patriarchal Church of Saint George, an ecumenical commemorative service at a historical site in Iznik (once Nicaea) and a private meeting of Christian Church leaders and Communion representatives at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem.
The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion joins ecumenical celebrations of the Nicene Creed
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (left) with the Rt Revd Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion (Right)
The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, the Rt Revd Anthony Poggo, joined the ecumenical pilgrimage, along with representatives of other world communions. He took part in the commemorative prayer service and the private meeting of Christian Church leaders and Communion representatives.
Prayers were offered during the private meeting, with representatives attending from the Coptic and Apostolic traditions, the Old Catholic Bishops’ Conference Union of Utrech, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the World Methodist Council, the Baptist World Alliance, the Mennonite World Conference, Pentecostal World Fellowship International Office, the World Evangelical Alliance and the World Council of Churches.
The service concluded with the leaders of Christian Churches and Communions praying the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed together in English, omitting the Filioque, which was a source of division in the 11th century between eastern and western churches.
Speaking about the significance of the pilgrimage, the Secretary General said: ‘It was a privilege to represent the Anglican Communion at this important ecumenical pilgrimage. The Joint Declaration shared by Pope Leo and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is an important step in the pursuit of unity and an encouragement to all Christians to respond earnestly to Christ’s call to be one. It is my prayer that their appeal to world leaders to work for peace will be heard. Working in the power of God’s Spirit, may the Church rise up to foster peace across the earth, build greater unity between our traditions and share the hope of Christ.’
Read the Joint Declaration of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and His All Holiness Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch.
See an article from Vatican News about the Pope’s meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch.
Read the Joint Declaration between His Holiness Pope Paul VI and The Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I in 1965.
Read more about the significance of the Nicene Creed.
See an article on world communion and church leaders' statements on the event of a shared Easter.