Pope Leo XIV is meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul (Constantinople) this weekend after a powerful visit to Nicaea of Bithynia, known today as İznik, where the First Ecumenical Council convened in 325 AD. The moments they are sharing, from their prayers among the ruins of the ancient basilica to their ongoing meetings at the Phanar, carry a quiet but unmistakable message of dialogue and shared Christian roots.
This is Pope Leo’s first foreign trip since his election, and it fulfills a pilgrimage originally planned by Pope Francis before his passing. The sense of continuity between pontificates adds an additional layer of meaning to the journey, which is opening the new Pope’s international ministry with a gesture toward East–West understanding.
The visit began in İznik, the modern town that sits on the site of ancient Nicaea, where the First Ecumenical Council formulated the original Nicene Creed. Standing amid the ruins of the basilica that once hosted that historic gathering, Pope Leo and Patriarch Bartholomew recited the Creed together using its earliest Greek formulation.
As reported by Romfea, they used the phrase “εκ του Πατρός εκπορευόμενον,” without the later Western addition known as the filioque. The scene carries a striking sense of continuity. Seventeen centuries after bishops first articulated those words, the leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches are repeating them in the same location, letting the past speak directly into the present.
The importance of Nicaea has also echoed within the Greek-American community. On November 15, the Archons hosted a Nicaea symposium at St. George in Philadelphia, offering local faithful a thoughtful look at the Council’s history and relevance.
As today’s visit continues in Istanbul, Pope Leo has arrived at the Ecumenical Patriarchate, where Patriarch Bartholomew has welcomed him at the Church of Saint George. The two are holding meetings in the Patriarchal Palace, ahead of the expected signing of a joint declaration in the Throne Room. Kathimerini describes the document as affirming “την κοινή πορεία προς την κατανόηση και τον σεβασμό,” a shared path toward understanding and respect. Clergy, hierarchs, and official representatives are gathered as the two leaders carry forward their dialogue.
Further liturgical events and formal greetings are scheduled throughout the day, with the visit unfolding in real time. What began among the archaeological remains of Nicaea is now continuing in the active spiritual center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, binding past and present in a way that feels deliberate and meaningful.