Pope Leo & Patriarch Bartholomew's visit to Nicaea highlights diminishing divide between East and West

With the arrival of both the Head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Leo XIV and the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew in Nicaea on November 28th, signs grow over the improving bridge between East and West, and ultimately a return to full communion.

Pope Leo XVI (left) speaking next to Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew (right) on a platform above the ruins of the Council of Nicaea in Iznik, Turkey, Elias Turk/EWTN News.

In the 1700th year anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, widely considered to me among the most important events in Christian history, the two leaders met for the second time after previously meeting each other a few months ago.

This confrontation came as a result of Pope Leo XIV's ongoing pilgrimage across the Middle East, specifically Turkey and Lebanon, which hold significant value for the church through their Christian histories (Constantinople, Nicaea, etc.). The Pope first met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who opened the Pope with open arms, with the Pope even addressing Turkish troops in their native language, sparking interest online. Leo made assurances that the relationship between Catholicism and Islam will remain cordial, affirming both religions' similarities in adherence to virtuous and moral principles while complementing on Turkey's natural wonders and long history of syncretism between Christian Greek and Muslim Turks.

Both Leo and Bartholomew met together for the second time near the eastern Turkish coast of the Aegean Sea, specifically in Iznik, just above the ruins of the original Nicaean Council (pictured above). The shared session started with traditional hymns in both Greek and Latin, followed by addresses from each of the two leaders describing the location's importance to their respective denominations while addressing similarities, such as both Orthodoxy and Catholicism's belief in the Nicaean Creed.

The meeting symbolically indicates the growing connection between East and West, as now there is a common willingness to unite Christian denominations and peoples. Pope Leo XIV recently announced the gradual reduction of the use of the traditional Latin mass in favor of masses spoken in the local tongue, which assists Eastern Catholic Churches in retaining their more Greek customs. With this coming into effect soon, the possibility of uniting the two churches, similar in belief but different in practice, has become far more feasible than previously, though the process will remain difficult due to the presence of some differences in belief system, like the sacraments.

However, the meeting, coupled with Pope Leo's meeting with President Erdogan of Turkey, shows the Catholic West's growing willingness to improve ties with the rest of the world. Previously staunch foes, Leo treated the primarily Islamic Turkey with mutual kindness and respect (following the precedent of Pope Francis), though expanding on his predecessor's work to making the church truly all-encompassing. And the arrival of a Greek Orthodox religious leader into a Muslim country with open arms is an even greater role, as it may indicate the lessening tension between the centuries-long contrast between the two faiths.

Politically, the West has become more open to East, especially when due to Middle Eastern & Eastern European politics, from the joint Western-Middle Eastern peace plan for the Gaza Strip to the now growing compromise over the Ukraine War's outcome (especially after Trump's revision of his 28-point plan). We are not only seeing a growing interconnectedness in faith, but politics at a systemic level, as religious/cultural differences play less of a role in the global sphere.