Pope Leo XIV will undertake his first apostolic journey from November 27 to December 2, visiting Turkey and Lebanon. The six-day trip carries deep historical and spiritual significance, marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the birthplace of the Nicene Creed that united early Christianity.
In İznik (ancient Nicaea), the Pope will join Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople in a joint pilgrimage — a historic moment for Catholic–Orthodox relations. He will also spend time at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, where he and Patriarch Bartholomew will celebrate the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle on November 30.
The second leg of the journey will take him to Lebanon, where the country’s bishops expressed gratitude for his “fatherly love and special concern” amid ongoing political and economic hardship.
A spokesman for the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, confirmed he has invited the pontiff to Istanbul for an event on November to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea on November 29 before traveling together to Iznik together for the anniversary of the first Nicaea council on November 30, Saint Andrew’s Day.
The trip comes at a time when Turkey, led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has poor record in dealing with the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. And, indeed, there are no churches in Iznik..either Catholic or Orthodox.