The First Ecumenical Council - oil painting (XVIII сentury) in the Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Foto:
Museum of St. Sophia Cathedral

Nicaea 2025

Living the apostolic faith together today: Commemorating 1700th anniversary of the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea

Why Nicaea? Why Now?

The year 2025 marks the 1,700th anniversary of the world’s first ecumenical Council, the Council of Nicaea of 325. The theologians gathered then were seeking unity, and the story of Nicaea needs to be remembered faithfully and thoughtfully. Then, as now, the call to unity was heard within the context of a troubled, unequal, and divided world.

The commemoration of Nicaea is a key moment in the story of Christian faith and in the ecumenical journey today. It offers us an opportunity to reflect on the faith we share, and on the Church, called to be sign and servant of the mission of God. How shall we live, pray, and celebrate the apostolic faith together, as one, in our times? If ever we needed an opportunity to consider the unity of the Christian family, and its witness to the world, surely that time is now!

The purpose of the WCC’s Faith and Order Commission is “to serve the churches as they to call one another to visible unity,” and in this historic year, the Commission will convene a number of events to commemorate Nicaea – as a Council, a Creed, a moment in history, and a touchstone for Christian life and faith – and to reflect on its meaning for today and tomorrow.

We hope the Christians of the world will join us and one another to remember, to reflect, and to renew their faith and hope in the love, justice, and unity of Jesus Christ.

A Brief History of World Conferences on Faith and Order

“Faith and Order” came to birth in its “First World Conference,” held in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1927. It has continued to hold “world conferences” at key moments in its life and work. In physics, a “moment” is the centre of gravity around which an object turns. In Faith and Order, it is something that compels the commission to invite a wider consideration of its “object:” its purpose and work. Over the decades there have been five Faith and Order World Conferences:

  • Lausanne, Switzerland 1927
  • Edinburgh, Scotland – 1937
  • Lund, Sweden – 1952
  • Montreal, Canada – 1963
  • Santiago de Compostela, Spain – 1993

Each Conference gathered large numbers of church representatives from around the world who wrestled with the issues of faith and church in the contexts of their day. We believe it is time to gather in this way once more. The anniversary of Nicaea offers us not only a time for reckoning, but an opportunity for celebration, as we reflect on what the churches have said and done together, what they learned about problem-solving across differences, and where those hopeful accomplishments might lead us.

A Conference, but not only a Conference!

Faith and Order will convene a “World Conference” in 2025 (for church delegates, with public online viewing also available) to ask, “Where now for visible communion?”

But it won’t start, or stop, there! There will be many ways for Christians to engage in the provocative questions and topics that this Nicaea anniversary proposes. Therefore, watch for:

  • Worship resources: expressing our reflection in liturgical form
  • Study resources on the present work of Faith and Order
  • A new study programme on the Faith and Order study: Apostolic Faith Today
  • Webinars on key Faith and Order work
  • Publications and articles on pertinent topics
  • Contributions to conferences and gatherings around the world
  • Attention to significant research projects on related themes
  • Online and local interactive presentations and conversations
  • Links to parallel Nicaea commemorations among the churches
  • Space to share artistic contributions, including music and visual arts

Information about all of these events and activities will be posted on this webpage as they become available. We hope you will join us!

News
Interview
Relics sit on the altar, as Sunday service is celebrated in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint George, Church of Cyprus, in Paralimni. The service is attended by participants in an Inter-Orthodox Pre-Assembly Consultation to the World Council of Churches’ 11th Assembly that brings together more than 50 delegates representing 20 Eastern and Oriental Orthodox member churches, in Cyprus on 9-16 May 2022.

Reflexionen zu “What are the Churches Saying About the Church?” teilen Früchte der ÖRK-Kommission für Glauben und Kirchenverfassung

Unten: Pn. Dr. Susan Durber, Vorsitzende der Kommission für Glauben und Kirchenverfassung des Ökumenischen Rates der Kirchen (ÖRK), und S.E. Bishop Maxim von der Serbischen Orthodoxen Kirche, Mitglied der Kommission für Glauben und Kirchenverfassung, reflektieren über die Veröffentlichung “What Are the Churches Saying About the Church?” (“Was sagen die Kirchen über die Kirche?”, in Englischer Sprache).

Die Veröffentlichung, welche wesentliche Ergebnisse und Vorschläge aus den Antworten zu “Die Kirche: Auf dem Weg zu einer gemeinsamen Vision”  präsentiert, ist eine der vielen Früchte, die von der Studiengruppen der ÖRK-Kommission für Gauben und Kirchenverfassung für die 11. ÖRK-Generalversammlung eingebracht werden.

25 Mai 2022
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For further information please contact media@wcc-coe.org.