Ecumenical Conference on Nicaea at the Angelicum

From 4 to 7 June, an international ecumenical symposium entitled “Nicaea and the Church of the Third Millennium: Towards Catholic-Orthodox Unity” took place at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome. The event was held under the patronage of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

This international academic conference focused on dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox Christians, looking to the future. Three themes were explored — the Nicene faith, synodality and the date of Easter — based on the conviction that the Council of Nicaea is fundamental to Orthodox-Catholic unity and the proclamation of Christ in the modern world.

Over 100 international experts from various Christian traditions were invited to investigate these topics, either as individuals or as representatives of ecumenical dialogues or academic institutions such as the Pro Oriente Foundation, the Society for the Law of the Eastern Churches, the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, the Huffington Ecumenical Institute, the Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose, the St. Irenaeus Working Group and the Volos Academy for Theological Studies, to name a few.

At the opening session on 4 June, following an ecumenical prayer service, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery, delivered a keynote address entitled “The 1700th Anniversary of the Council of Nicaea: An Ecumenical Opportunity and Challenge”. The two other keynotes were offered by Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, Co-Chair of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and Archbishop Rowan Williams.

To celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea (325), the IOTA (the International Orthodox Theological Association) and the ŒCUMENICUM jointly organised an ecumenical symposium. The 'IOTA' (the International Orthodox Theological Association) is a community of scholars and church leaders who promote Orthodox theology and ecumenical dialogue. The ‘ŒCUMENICUM’ (the Institute for Ecumenical Studies) is a specialised institute of the Angelicum that promotes Christian unity through academic teaching and research.

On Saturday 7 June, the conference participants were received in a private audience by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.

^{Photo Credit: Peter Feng}