IOTA-Conference:

NICAEA AND THE CHURCH OF THE THIRD MILLENNIUM:

TOWARDS CATHOLIC-ORTHODOX UNITY

with the participation of Volos Academy

The Conference “Nicaea and the Church of the Third Millennium: Towards Catholic-Orthodox Unity” took place in Rome between June 4 and 7, 2025, at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. The Conference was co-organized by IOTA, the International Orthodox Theological Association, and Œcumenicum, the Institute for Ecumenical Studies of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas “Angelicum”, under the Patronage of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

The conference aimed to commemorate the 1.700 anniversary from the holding of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, in 325 AD, to encourage relevant theological reflection, and to promote ecumenical understanding and Orthodox-Catholic dialogue.

Volos Academy for Theological Studies sponsored the session “Synodality in the Light of Nicaea”, which was chaired by its Director, Dr. Pantelis Kalaitzidis. Presenters of the session included:

Prof. Irina Paert (Chair of Church History and Associate Professor of Orthodox Church History, School of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Tartu, Estonia): “Different Models of Synodality”

Prof. Dr. Myriam Wijlens (Professor of Canon Law, Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany): “The 2021–2024 Synod on Synodality in the Roman Catholic Church: Achievements – Opportunities – Challenges”

Prof. Julija Naett Vidovic (Professeur d’Histoire des Conciles Œcuméniques et de Bioéthique, Institut St Serge, Paris, France): “The ‘Synod on Synodality’ of the Catholic Church: An Orthodox Assessment”

Ms. Katerina Pekridou, MTh, (Programme Officer for Theology and Studies, Conference of European Churches, Brussels, Belgium): “All Disciples, All Missionaries: All Called to Ministry. Revisiting Synodality from the Perspective of Mission”

Dr. Andrej Jeftić (Director, Commission on Faith and Order, World Council of Churches): “Nicaea and the Quest for Christian Unity: A Faith and Order Perspective on the Council’s Ecumenical Significance.”

In addition to this, Rev. Dr. Amphilochios Miltos (Research Associate of the Volos Academy, and Member of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church), spoke in the Plenary on the topic “Synodality and Primacy in Light of Nicaea I: Canonical and Ecclesiological Challenges for Catholic-Orthodox Unity” in the Session “Primacy in the Light of Nicaea”, chaired by Prof. Effie Fokas, the other presenters of the session being Prof. George Demacopoulos, Rev. Prof. Hyacinthe Destivelle, O.P., Rev. Prof. Juan Usma Gómez, and Prof. Dimitrios Keramidas.

Around 300 scholars took part in the well-organized conference, which, among other things, offered the opportunity for fruitful encounters and exchanges. Volos Academy and its Director would like to thank the IOTA Board of Directors and its President, Prof. Paul Gavrilyuk, for his leadership and tireless efforts, as well as the Director of the Institute for Ecumenical Studies of Angelicum, Rev. Dr. Hycinthe Destivelle O.P., for hosting the conference, and for contributing to its success.

The Conference culminated on Saturday, June 7, with a private audience in the Vatican with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. In a warm personal address many found spiritually moving, Pope Leo greeted the participants of the Conference as brothers and sisters on the eve of Pentecost, urging all to “remember that the unity for which Christians long will not be primarily the fruit of our own efforts, nor will it be realized through any preconceived model or blueprint. Rather, unity will be a gift received ‘as Christ wills and by the means that he wills’, by the working of the Holy Spirit.” As the conference concluded, Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican and Protestant attendees expressed joy over the spirit of dialogue, scholarship, and genuine learning on all sides. The Conference’s diverse presentations emphasized in harmony that the Council of Nicaea is not a museum artifact to memorialize but a living proclamation reverberating across the centuries with the good news of divine-human communion in Jesus Christ, which we must dynamically continue to plumb and rearticulate today.

(with information and pictures taken from IOTA’s Press Releases and Vatican Media)

See the Conference programme at https://tinyurl.com/iotanicaea

See the official IOTA press releases at https://iota-web.org/2025-conference-press-releases/

See the Conference video-recordings at https://www.youtube.com/live/toIfnLhJD2Q

See more pictures at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064724527223