Last Sunday, in a gesture of support for Christian unity and Christian minorities, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV met and prayed with His Beatitude Archbishop Sahak II, the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Mother-of-God.
The pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church was in Istanbul as part of a four-day visit marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. He visited the city (now known as Iznik) where the first Ecumenical Council took place in A.D. 325, which resulted in the universal statement of Christian belief known as the Nicene Creed.
At the Armenian Patriarchate on Sunday, November 30, Pope Leo and Patriarch Sahak entered the cathedral filled with some 500 worshippers, to jointly preside over a prayer service.
In his address, Pope Leo sent greetings to His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and expressed his gratitude for the fraternal bonds that have united the Armenian and Catholic churches. He thanked God for “the courageous Christian witness of the Armenian people throughout history, often amid tragic circumstances.”
Patriarch Sahak in remarks said that “the Papacy has long served as a moral compass, defending the dignity of every human being, championing peace, and giving voice to those who have none. The Armenian people do not forget the Popes who have raised their voices in our times of suffering, who stood with Christian communities in danger, and who upheld truth when the world hesitated.”
The prayer service was followed by a dedication ceremony, where an inscribed marble plaque was unveiled in Pope Leo’s honor.
Papal Visits of the Past
Pope Leo’s predecessors—Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI—all visited the Armenian Patriarchal Cathedral during their respective visits to Istanbul.
During the Pope Francis’ visit to the city in 2014, he made an impromptu stop at a hospital to see the ailing Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan (who passed away in 2019). Subsequently, Pope Francis proved an advocate for many Armenian causes, including Genocide recognition. He visited Armenia in 2016, and recognized St. Gregory of Narek as a Doctor of the Church.
In his visit this week, Pope Leo recalled another great Armenian churchman—the 12th-century Armenian Catholicos St. Nerses IV Shnorhali—and extolled his efforts to “reconcile the churches in order to fulfill Christ’s prayer that ‘they may all be one.’ May the example of St. Nerses inspire us, and his prayer strengthen us, on the path to full communion,” he prayed.
Click the following links to view photos of the visit and watch a video clip from Vatican News.