Feature story
“The preparation for Nicaea 2025 and ongoing ecumenical theological discourse depends on academic expertise, such as that found at Munich University,” the moderator of the Faith and Order commission, Rev. Dr Stephanie Dietrich, from the Church of Norway, said at the 13 December consultation at the Ludwig Maximillian University of Munich.
“Simultaneously, this work is grounded in the churches’ commitment to pursuing visible unity - a commitment marked by attentive listening and a shared desire to overcome divisions,” she added.
“We therefore seek active engagement with academic institutions like yours and place great importance on the reception and critical reflection of our work in such contexts,” said Dietrich.
The Council of Nicaea took place in 325 CE and led to the adoption of the Nicene Creed, a statement of Christian faith still said today in churches throughout the world.
“As the First Ecumenical Council, it sought to articulate and defend the apostolic faith in the face of doctrinal challenges, establishing the foundation for Christian unity,” Dr Andrej Jeftic, director of the Faith and Order commission and a theologian from the Serbian Orthodox Church, said in his presentation.
The WCC will be marking the 1700th anniversary of the council with the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order, to be held in October 2025 near Alexandria in Egypt.
The consultation in Munich was part of the preparations for the World Conference with universities and theological faculties as well as promoting the reception of the work of Faith and Order among academics and theologians.
Munich university is unique in Germany in having an Institute of Orthodox Theology alongside Roman Catholic and Protestant theological faculties.
“In Munich, three traditions of Christian theology are represented,” said Prof. Dr Martin Wallraff of Munich’s Protestant faculty. “We work closely together, and Nicaea is an important basis for all our ecumenical endeavours.”
In his contribution at the consultation, Wallraff recalled how that before the Council of Nicaea, intellectual discussions on Christian faith concerned only a small niche of believers.
“This changed radically with Nicaea 325; theological issues now were public issues,” said Wallraff.
“Nicaea was also the beginning of what I would call ‘public theology.’ With this council Christianity entered the stage of the general public,” he said.
As a result, theology has a public responsibility, and needs to be sensitive to and conscious of its wider impact.
Today, Wallraff said, “public theology can only exist and can only have an impact on society if it is ecumenical. This is my message for the anniversary 2025.”
During the consultation, members of the Faith and Order commission offered perspectives on Nicaea from their own backgrounds and church traditions.
Dr Maria Munkholt-Christensen, a Danish Lutheran at the University of Bonn, spoke of the importance of the Nicene Creed, a statement of Christian faith whose origins go back to the Council of Nicaea.
“For me as a Lutheran, it is possible to cherish the Nicene Creed and its theological heritage,” she said, while underlining the importance of critically assessing its historical context.
Dr Johannes Oeldemann, a Roman Catholic theologian who is director of the Johann-Adam-Möhler-Institute for Ecumenism, noted how the Council of Nicaea brought together for the first time a large number of bishops to discuss issues concerning the whole Church.
The led to the development of synodality, a term used to denote a process of mutual discernment in church councils or synods. Today, said Oeldemann, the Orthodox, Protestant, and Roman Catholic churches are all facing different challenges relating to synodality.
“What can we learn from each other in this respect?” he asked. “What experiences of other churches can we benefit from?”
Mawuli Assimadi, a Presbyterian from Ghana, and Tijana Petkovic-Bertsch, from the Serbian Orthodox Church, who are both studying in Germany, offered a contribution as younger theologians.
They noted how the Council of Nicaea had helped to clarify the meaning of Christian identity.
“In today's digital world, the question of identity poses new challenges, including for Christianity,” they said in their presentation.
The day before the consultation, the Faith and Order representatives met Bishop Christian Kopp of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, where they introduced the World Conference and the WCC’s Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity.
Bishop Kopp underlined the importance of Christian witness in today’s world. “We can only do this together,” he said.
More information about the work of Faith and Order
More information about Nicaea 2025 and the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order
