Ecumenical meeting at Mor Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Church in Istanbul

On Saturday 29 November, at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem in Istanbul, on the occasion of the commemoration of the First Council of Nicaea, Pope Leo XIV took part in a private ecumenical meeting, attended by Church leaders and Christian leaders who had participated the previous day in an ecumenical prayer service in Iznik.

Welcomed on his arrival by His Holiness Ignatius Aphrem II, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, and His Eminence Filüksinos Yusuf Çetin, Metropolitan of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch for Istanbul, the Holy Father joined Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and other representatives of the Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, World Christian communions and ecumenical organisations.

The choir then sang a hymn invoking the Holy Spirit, and the representatives took their places at the round table. The meeting continued behind closed doors, with brief statements from each representative, followed by a speech by Pope Leo XIV. Before leaving the church, Metropolitan Filüksinos Yusuf Çetin invited the group to recite the Lord's Prayer.