During first international trip, Pope moots Jerusalem jubilee

Pope Leo, speaking to Christian leaders in Türkiye on November 29, said he hoped they could meet in Jerusalem in 2033. The Pope would like to celebrate “in the Cenacle, place of the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, where he washed their feet, and the place of Pentecost”, the Vatican press office said. But to facilitate the encounter, the leaders need to make progress in their efforts toward full unity.

Later on November 29, in a joint declaration with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Pope Leo called on Christians of the East and West to finally agree on a common date for Easter. The Pope and Patriarch also appealed for an end to war.

The previous day, Pope Leo XIV and Christian leaders gathered at an archaeological site in Türkiye to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and Nicene Creed. Patriarch Bartholomew hosted an ecumenical prayer service and the common recitation of the Creed at Iznik, site of the ancient Nicaea.

The joint recitation of the Creed did not include the phrase known as the “filioque” – the statement that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son” – since the phrase is not used by the Orthodox because it was inserted into the Latin Creed by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014.

Recent popes, including Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis and Pope Leo, have omitted the phrase at ecumenical prayer services.

At the gathering, Pope Leo said “The desire for full communion among all believers in Jesus Christ is always accompanied by the search for fraternity among all human beings”.

Pope Leo said in Iznik that belief in God the Father, who created all human beings in the divine image, means “there is a universal fraternity of men and women regardless of ethnicity, nationality, religion or personal perspectives”.

The Pope spoke against the use of religion to justify war, and expressed concern that many Christians have departed from the Nicene Creed’s firm belief in the divinity of Jesus.

Also on November 29, Pope Leo XIV, like his two immediate predecessors, visited the so-called Blue Mosque in Istanbul; he spent about 20 minutes inside but did not appear to pause for prayer as Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis had done.

Pope Leo’s first apostolic visit outside Italy started in Türkiye on November 27 and will finish in Lebanon on December 2.

FULL STORY

Christians should work on joint Jubilee in Jerusalem in 2033, pope says (By Cindy Wooden/CNS)

Though Nicaea is a ruin, its Creed stands and unites Christians, pope says (CNS)

Pope visits famous Istanbul mosque but does not pause to pray (CNS)

From Nicea to the Port of Beirut: Pope Leo’s schedule for Türkiye and Lebanon (Vatican News)

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