Pope Francis Urges Christian Unity Around the Nicene Creed, Meeting Oriental Orthodox Priests and Monks

Pope Francis received young priests and hermits from the ancient Eastern churches, who were visiting Rome for study, at the Vatican on February 6. The Vatican News report describes the group as Eastern Orthodox, and names the church communities of Armenia, the Copts, Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Malankara Church as among those gathered.

The meeting took place in the context of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, and it was held at the Domus Sanctae Martha. According to the report, all Christians together accept the Creed professed at Nicaea. The Pope said that on the path toward unity, under “one profession of faith,” the Creed can gather the different branches of Christianity together, like divided “tiles,” and protect them as “treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

The Pope reflected on the Creed in three senses. In a theological sense, he said, it expresses the harmony of the truth of the Christian faith. In an ecclesiological sense, it recalls the original meaning of the Creed as a “symbol,” a token broken into two halves that are joined so that each party can recognize the other. He said Christians are called to show their identity through their faith, adding that “only together with others can full unity be found.”

In a spiritual sense, the Pope noted, the Creed was originally recited in the first person plural, “We believe.” He said communion with God requires unity among Christians, meaning they must profess the same faith, and that the Creed brings unity where the devil creates division (John 17:21). He added: “How good it would be if every time we recite the Creed, we could feel united with Christians of every tradition.”

Source: Read the original report (translated from Mandarin Chinese)