But let's just take us back to the first couple of days of the Pope's visit, Pope Leo XIV in Turkey
because he did mark the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in the place of Iznik
That's in the ancient site of Nicaea. There he was joined by Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Protestant leaders in a historical ecumenical gathering
He recited the Nicene Creed in its original Greek form, and the Pope called for Christian unity rooted in truth
He warned against using religion to justify war or fanaticism, while also signaling a careful balance between doctrine and reconciliation
Let's bring in Andrew Chestnut, Professor of Religious Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University
Andrew, as always, a real pleasure to have you here on France 24 for your take on this
I just want to talk about the Nicene Council. This is quite a momentous thing
the Pope coming on the 1700th anniversary of that famed meeting of about 318 bishops
patriarchs, priests, and all. If you're a fly on the wall in 325 AD
just take me through the scenes in front of you. Thank you
Thank you
Thank you so we can safely say that that meeting was possibly the most important i want to say in
christian history there must have been though crucial elements that were left out of the
agreement by emperor constantine and what followed from that do we have any idea what was left out
And what impact that could have had on Christianity as we see it today
Thank you
So we speak about that you know triumvirate all coming together on the creed i guess that
also speaks to the symbolism of pope leo reciting the creed in its ancient greek text when he was
with all those church leaders gathered together just i mean what kind of a moment was that for
the catholic church and the orthodox and the other various faiths Thank you
A real congregation and coming together. Andrew Chestnut, thank you as always for joining us here on France 24 with all that insight