Pope Francis announced on Thursday that he plans to visit the Turkish city of Iznik, once ancient Nicaea, next year. He will do so on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the First Nicene Council, which was the first ever church assembly with the participation of bishops from the entire Christian world. TASR informs about this according to a report by the Reuters news agency, which refers to the Italian media.
From May to July 325, Nicaea was the scene of a council convened by Emperor Constantine. This happened 12 years after the publication of the Edict of Milan, which guaranteed Christians freedom of religion in the Roman Empire. Soon, however, there was a deep theological split in Alexandria about the divine nature of Jesus Christ. The opinion of the priest Arius that Jesus was not of one substance with the Father spread throughout the empire within a few years until he was condemned by the First Council of Nicaea.
The most famous outcome of the council is the so-called Nicene Creed, which was supplemented half a century later at the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople and is still used in liturgy in the Christian East and West today. “During the Holy Year, we will also have the opportunity to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the first great ecumenical council, the Nicene Council. I plan to go there,” the Pope declared on Thursday at the event of the theological committee.
Iznik is located in western Anatolia, approximately 150 kilometers southeast of Istanbul. Pope Francis already expressed his desire to go on this journey in June. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople said some time ago that the two will celebrate this important event together, but it has not been officially confirmed yet.
Despite the fact that traveling abroad is increasingly difficult for František due to his health problems, the pope, who will turn 88 on December 17, completed a 12-day tour of Asia in September, which was the longest during his 11-year pontificate.
