Metropolitan Methodios, Archbishop Henning issue joint statement on Nicaea anniversary

Tuesday, December 02, 2025

 

Archbishop Richard G. Henning and Metropolitan Methodios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston have released a joint statement marking Pope Leo XIV's Nov. 28 visit to Nicaea, marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and its Creed, which established the basic tenets of the Christian faith.

"For 17 centuries, this Creed has been the basis of our worship and our witness, as well as what binds us together as Christians," the statement reads. "Here in Boston, our Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches welcome this historic event with joy, joining the voices of many other Christians locally and globally in affirming that 'We believe in one God, Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth . . .'"

The pope's trip, the first foreign visit of his papacy, is part of a visit to Turkey and Lebanon, which is taking place from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2. In Nicaea (modern-day Turkey), the pope will meet with Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew for an ecumenical prayer service. The Creed has long been a point of both unity and division between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, primarily over the Filioque clause, from the Latin meaning "and from the Son." Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit comes from God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ. Orthodox Christians, however, believe that the Holy Spirit comes solely from the Father. Since the Second Vatican Council, popes have made overtures to the Orthodox Church in hopes of reconciliation. On Nov. 23, Pope Leo issued an apostolic letter entitled "In Unitate Fidei" ("In the Unity of Faith") in which he said the Nicene Creed "can be the basis and reference point" for unity between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

"It's deeply important that we recognize the 1,700th anniversary of the creation of this creed because this creed unifies and clarifies," said Vito Nicastro, director of the archdiocese's Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. "It unifies Christians throughout the world and even, if you think about it, throughout the ages, and it clarifies our understanding of who God is and his interaction with creation."

He said that the Creed clarifies the message of the church so it can "speak with one voice." It is said aloud by the faithful at every Catholic and Orthodox liturgy.

"We don't just say it to ourselves, we profess it," Nicastro said. "We are proclaiming it as our witness to the world."

When it comes to meetings between Catholic and Orthodox leaders, Boston was ahead of the Vatican by 12 years. Representatives of Pope St. John XXIII and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras met in 1959. Cardinal Richard Cushing and Athenagoras, then Orthodox Archbishop of North and South America, shared a warm embrace in 1947.

"So much has happened to create an unusual set of bonds" between the archdiocese and metropolis, Nicastro said, and those bonds are what prompted the joint statement.

"We have a tremendous common ground, especially in this Nicene Creed," he said. "But we wanted people to understand that in Boston, we made that living."

Cardinal Cushing preached at Boston's Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England in 1969. Since the 1980s, the Archbishop of Boston has annually visited Annunciation's Easter vigil, and the metropolitan has visited the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

"These traditions have continued uninterrupted, perhaps longer than anywhere else in the world," Archbishop Henning and Metropolitan Methodios's statement reads. "And beyond these public events, there have been countless collaborations and consultations on matters of the common good, along with relationships and friendships grounded in the common faith of Nicaea."

Boston's Catholic and Orthodox communities participated in joint pilgrimages to Rome and Constantinople in 1996 and 2007.

"We have come to know, love, and collaborate with each other as brothers in Christ," the statement reads.

The two churches have also hosted the North American Orthodox-Roman Catholic Theological Consultation, which has convened regularly to work out the churches' differences. Both Metropolitan Methodios and Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley have chaired those dialogues. The seminaries of the archdiocese and the metropolis have provided staff members for them. From 1999 to 2003, the dialogue worked on the Filioque clause and produced a 47-page statement of the two churches' agreements on it.

"It was the work of dialogue which provided the common understanding for that phrase," Nicastro said.

The metropolis and the archdiocese have also helped to direct dialogue between the Orthodox and Catholic bishops of the U.S.

"In all of this, we have discerned the abundant mercy of God, discovered the rich faith of the Nicaean Creed, and developed an increased desire to grow in the unity of faith," the statement

reads.

Nicastro said that the anniversary of the Creed, and the meeting between the pope and patriarch, should be a moment of joy for all Christians.

"Here in Boston, we've actually put it into practice, and it's been extremely fruitful," he said.