VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Recognizing the essential tenets of faith that Catholics and Orthodox share should be the lens through which they discuss the issues that continue to separate them, Pope Leo XIV said.
“Through theological dialogue and with the help of God, we will gain a better understanding of the mystery that unites us,” he told Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Catholics scholars and bishops June 7.
The bishops and theologians met June 4-7 in Rome for a conference marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and its implications for future church unity.
Pope Leo began his remarks to the group apologizing for being late and asking for their patience. “I am not yet one month into the new job, so there are a lot of learning experiences,” he said.
Marking the anniversary of the council, he said, is not simply about recalling the past. Especially because the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed still is the basic profession of Christian faith, the council “must continue to guide us towards the full visible unity of Christians.”
“By celebrating together this Nicene faith and by proclaiming it together, we will also advance towards the restoration of full communion among us,” Pope Leo said.
The pope quoted the Catholic International Theological Commission’s document on the Nicaea anniversary, saying the celebrations represent “an invaluable opportunity to emphasize that what we have in common is much stronger, quantitatively and qualitatively, than what divides us. Together, we believe in the Triune God, in Christ as truly human and truly God, and in salvation through Jesus Christ, according to the Scriptures read in the Church and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Together, we believe in the Church, baptism, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal life.”
“I am convinced,” the pope told the group, “that by returning to the Council of Nicaea and drawing together from this common source, we will be able to see in a different light the points that still separate us.”
The Council of Nicaea also set a common date for all Christians to celebrate Easter, but, the pope said, “sadly, differences in their calendars no longer allow Christians to celebrate together the most important feast of the liturgical year, causing pastoral problems within communities, dividing families and weakening the credibility of our witness to the Gospel.”
As St. Paul VI and the popes since then have done, Pope Leo told the bishops and scholars, “I would reaffirm the openness of the Catholic Church to the pursuit of an ecumenical solution favoring a common celebration of the Lord’s resurrection and thus giving greater missionary force to our preaching of the name of Jesus and the salvation born of faith in the saving truth of the Gospel.”
Pope Leo ended the audience by asking participants to stand as he used a prayer from the Orthodox tradition to ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of unity.
The prayer read:
“O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth,
Who art everywhere and fillest all things;
Treasury of Blessings, and Giver of Life,
Come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity,
and save our souls, O Good One.” Amen.
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