Twelve Christian World Communions have issued a message to mark the shared date of Easter in 2025 by all Christians, in conjunction with the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea.

The message seeks to bear witness to the Resurrection of Christ and has been signed by General Secretaries and ecumenical representatives of twelve Christian World Communions. It calls for Christians to work for the unity of the Church, praying for “the Holy Spirit to move our Communions to live and walk together, in obedience to the call of Jesus that all his disciples may be one.” It also offers words of hope “at this time of great political instability in the world, when so many live with fear, suffering, persecution, famine, and other forms of instability and vulnerability.” All Christians are called together to proclaim the good news of “repentance and forgiveness of sins … to all nations” (Luke 24:47-48).
… Read more » … lire la suite »

A “Faith and Order Update,” presenting some of the main areas of the work of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order, has been published as the WCC looks towards the  Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order later in 2025, and in the year that marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

“As the unity of the church is the main goal of our work within Faith and Order, this update offers information about the current work of our study groups on ecclesiology, moral discernment, and theological anthropology and on understanding the churches in and for the world,” writes moderator of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order Rev. Prof. Dr Stephanie Dietrich in her greeting. “I wish you many interesting insights while reading.”
… Read more » … lire la suite »

On 20 May 2025, the Christian world will commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the opening of the Council of Nicaea, which took place in Asia Minor in the year 325. This was the first ecumenical council in history, and it produced the creed that, completed by the First Council of Constantinople in 381, has become the distinctive expression of the Church’s faith in Jesus Christ. This anniversary occurs within the Jubilee Year, which is centered on the theme “Christ our Hope,” and it coincides with the common celebration of Easter by Christians of both East and West. As Pope Francis has emphasized, in this historic moment—marked by the tragedy of war along with countless anxieties and uncertainties—what is essential, most beautiful, most attractive, and also most necessary for Christians is precisely the faith in Jesus Christ proclaimed at Nicaea. Indeed, the proclamation of this faith is “the fundamental task of the Church” (Address to Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, 26 January 2024).
… Read more » … lire la suite »

The Nicene Creed is more than a statement of faith — it is a powerful sign of unity among Christians, Pope Francis said as he welcomed young priests and monks from Oriental Orthodox Churches to the Vatican.

“Whereas the devil divides, the symbol unites!” the pope told the group taking part in a study visit to Rome promoted by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. He explained that the Creed is called a “symbol” because it not only summarizes the core truths of Christianity but also serves as a sign of identity and communion among believers.

“How beautiful it would be if, each time we proclaim the Creed, we felt united with Christians of all traditions,” he said.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

The late Fr. Bernard de Margerie was remembered during the 2025 De Margerie Series for Christian Reconciliation and Unity — the 12th year of the series and the first to be held since his death in March 2024.

“We continue this series in his memory, and, with his encouragement, to continue to be agents of Christian reconciliation and unity,” said Nicholas Jesson, who helped establish the series in 2012 while serving as ecumenical officer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, and who now serves in Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations for the Archdiocese of Regina.

“No doubt Fr. Bernard is listening tonight, and joining us in prayer that all may be one in Christ so that the world may believe (John 17:21),” said Jesson in a poignant introduction at the start of the 2025 series Jan. 22 in Saskatoon.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has noted that the Easter celebrations in 2025 “will not merely be a fortuitous occurrence, but rather the beginning of a unified date for its observance by both Eastern and Western Christianity.”

The Ecumenical Patriarch said that this aspiration is particularly significant in light of the upcoming 1700th anniversary in 2025, marking the convening of the First Ecumenical Synod in Nicaea.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Commemorating the 1700th anniversary in 2025 of the Council of Nicaea is an inspiration to Christians today to work for the unity of the church, according to Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

At the Council of Nicaea, bishops representing the whole of Christendom gathered together for the first time to discuss the faith and witness of the church.

“Recalling the significance of the Council of Nicaea renews our call for full visible unity, the cornerstone of the ecumenical movement,” Pillay said in a greeting to an 8 February webinar, “From Nicaea, Walking Together to Unity: The Beginning of a New Beginning.”
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Speaking to the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order during the commission’s historic meeting in Indonesia, WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed gratitude for the commission’s work, and hope for the ecumenical journey in 2025.

“This marks a significant milestone in our journey, and I am filled with gratitude for the commitment and dedication each of you brings to the ecumenical table,” said Pillay. “The online interactions in the last months of last year, including the Faith and Order Commission and the Nicaea 2025 Steering Group Meetings, served as a testament to your resilience and adaptability.”
… Read more » … lire la suite »

A World Council of Churches (WCC) conference in 2025 in Egypt is to gather major Christian traditions to explore how churches can call each other to visible unity, inspired by the experiences of the early church, according to one of the key planners of the event.

The gathering – the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order – will mark the anniversary of the world’s first Ecumenical Council, the Council of Nicaea of 325, a key moment in the history of Christian faith.

In a WCC video interview, the Rev. Prof. Dr Sandra Beardsall, moderator of the Nicaea 2025 steering group of the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order, reflects on the significance of the Council of Nicaea and the inspiration it provides for the World Conference.

“Nicaea was the very first Council that brought together Christians from all around the world to meet together, to make decisions,” says Beardsall in the interview with Dr Stephen Brown, editor of the WCC’s journal, The Ecumenical Review.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Pope Francis said Wednesday that the full restoration of communion among all Christians is “an urgent priority in today’s world.”

In a letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, the pope expressed gratitude that Catholic and Orthodox Christians are seeking “to achieve full communion that will enable us one day, in God’s time, to gather together at the same eucharistic table.”
… Read more » … lire la suite »

On his return from Jerusalem, where he met with Pope Francis at the Holy Sepulchre, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, has revealed an important appointment for unity between Catholics and Orthodox: a gathering at Nicaea in 2025, where the first real ecumenical council of the undivided Church was celebrated.

Speaking exclusively with AsiaNews, Bartholomew says that together with Pope Francis “we agreed to leave as a legacy to ourselves and our successors a gathering in Nicaea in 2025, to celebrate together, after 17 centuries, the first truly ecumenical synod, where the Creed was first promulgated”. The Council of Nicaea (now Iznik, 130 km south-east of Istanbul), brought together more than 300 bishops from East and West in 325 and is considered the first true ecumenical council. It was there that the formula of the Creed was decided, similar to the one recited during the liturgy today, saying that Jesus “is consubstantial to the Father,” to counter the Arian ideology.
… Read more » … lire la suite »