Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I gathered in the western Turkish town of İznik on Friday to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, an early Christian meeting that produced the Nicene Creed.
The event took place on the second day of the pope’s visit to Turkey. He traveled to İznik, historically known as Nicaea, and joined Orthodox and Catholic clergy at the site of a fourth-century basilica where hundreds of bishops met in AD 325.
The leaders prayed in several languages as a choir sang hymns in English, French, Greek, Latin and Turkish. Speaking in English, the pope said the anniversary was a chance for churches to reflect on the central place of the creed in Christian tradition and urged Christian communities to move toward unity.
The patriarch also called for unity and described the anniversary as a moment for cooperation among churches that have been divided since the 11th century.
The meeting came at a time of tension within the Orthodox world following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and disputes between the Moscow and Constantinople patriarchates.
The pope also rejected the use of religion to justify violence and said dialogue should guide relations among communities.
Turkish media later reported that police removed Mehmet Ali Ağca from the area near the ceremony. Ağca shot and wounded Pope John Paul II in 1981 and has lived in Turkey since his release from prison in 2010. He told reporters he hoped to meet the pope during the visit.
The pope began his four-day trip on Thursday in Ankara, where he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He then traveled to İstanbul for a service at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. The visit caused traffic restrictions in the city of 16 million people, drawing complaints from some residents.
Turkey is home to a small Christian population of about 100,000 people in a country of 86 million.
© Agence France-Presse