Pope Leo XIV begins Turkiye visit with prayers and unity message

Shouts of “Papa Leo” and “Viva il Papa” (Long unrecorded the pope ) person reverberated passim Istanbul’s Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by enthusiastic cheering and applause, arsenic Pope Leo XIV arrived to commence his archetypal travel successful Turkiye.

The pope led a supplication work with Turkish Catholic clergy and spiritual sisters earlier turning to the superior intent of his visit—the archetypal of his pontificate. He volition people the 1,700th day of a pivotal infinitesimal successful Christianity: the 325 AD Council of Nicaea, wherever bishops formulated the Nicene Creed, a declaration of religion inactive recited by millions of Christians worldwide. The creed professes content successful 1 God, acknowledges Jesus arsenic the quality lad of God, and the Holy Spirit arsenic an adjacent idiosyncratic successful the Trinity.

This historical assembly occurred erstwhile Eastern and Western churches remained unified, agelong earlier the Great Schism of 1054 divided them chiefly implicit papal authority. Nevertheless, the Nicene Creed continues to beryllium embraced by Catholic, Orthodox and astir accepted Protestant denominations, serving arsenic a uncommon constituent of statement and the astir universally accepted creed successful Christendom.

Consequently, celebrating its origins represents a important milestone successful the centuries-long effort to reunify Christianity.

Addressing the congregation astatine the cathedral, Leo emphasised that the creed was not simply a doctrinal connection but the “essential halfway of the Christian faith”.

“Therefore, its improvement is organic, akin to that of a surviving reality, gradually bringing to airy and expressing much afloat the indispensable bosom of the faith,” helium said.

Leo arrived successful Turkiye connected Thursday, promoting a connection of bid during his gathering with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He volition transportation this aforesaid connection to Lebanon connected Sunday during the 2nd and last limb of his travel arsenic history’s archetypal American pope.

At Tuesday’s cathedral service, Leo encouraged Turkiye’s tiny Catholic assemblage of astir 33,000 radical successful a predominantly Sunni Muslim federation of 85 million. He peculiarly praised the church’s outreach to migrants and newcomers.

“The logic of littleness is the church’s existent strength,” Leo told them successful English. “The important beingness of migrants and refugees successful this state presents the religion with the situation of welcoming and serving immoderate of the astir vulnerable.”

His connection resonated powerfully with the divers assemblage gathered outside, which reflected the multinational quality of Turkiye’s Catholic Church.

“With each my bosom I americium truthful happy,” said Debora Martina Da Silva, a governmental subject pupil from Guinea-Bissau.

Mateusz Zajdecki, a 21-year-old from Szczecin, Poland, acknowledged the ecumenical value of Leo’s visit.

“I deliberation it is important for Turkiye to beryllium agreed astatine 1 table, eucharistic table, and to commune unneurotic to 1 Father who is successful heaven,” Zajdecki said.