His Holiness Pope Leo XIV: What unites Christians is far greater than what divides

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV meets with participants in the Symposium “Nicaea and the Church of the Third Millennium: Towards Catholic-Orthodox Unity," and highlights the many aspects that unite Christians, as the Church celebrates the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"The Council of Nicaea is not merely an event of the past but a compass that must continue to guide us towards the full visible unity of all Christians."

Pope Leo XIV expressed this when receiving in Vatican participants in the Symposium “Nicaea and the Church of the Third Millennium: Towards Catholic-Orthodox Unity,” which took place on 4-7 June, at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

In 2025, the Catholic Church is commemorating the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, convened in 325 AD by Emperor Constantine I in the city of Nicaea.

The ecumenical council aimed to address theological disputes and establish a unified Christian doctrine, and its outcomes included affirming Christ's divinity and formulating the Nicene Creed.

Unity as Christ wills

At Saturday morning's encounter, the Holy Father gave a warm welcome to those present, expressing appreciation for the Angelicum-organized symposium as it looks toward the future. 

He called the First Ecumenical Council "foundational" for the common journey that Catholics and Orthodox have undertaken together since the Second Vatican Council.

For the Eastern Churches, which commemorate its celebration in their liturgical calendar, the Council of Nicaea, he recognized, "is not simply one Council among others or the first in a series, but the Council par excellence..."

On the eve of Pentecost, Pope Leo insisted "that the unity for which Christians long will not be primarily the fruit of our own efforts, nor will it be realized through any preconceived model or blueprint." Rather, he said, Christian unity will be "a gift received as Christ wills and by the means that He wills, by the working of the Holy Spirit."…

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