Pope Leo to visit Turkey for Council of Nicaea anniversary

Pope Leo XIV hopes to visit Turkey in what could be his first overseas trip as pontiff. [AFP]

Pope Leo XIV confirmed Thursday he hoped to visit Turkey in the coming months for a Christian religious commemoration, in what could be his first overseas trip as pontiff.

"I hope to be able to meet you again in a few months to take part in the ecumenical commemoration of the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea," Leo said at a meeting with members of an Orthodox and Catholic pilgrimage from the United States.

This year marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, a milestone in Church history, held in what is now the Turkish city of Iznik.

Convened by the emperor Constantine in 325 AD, the council was the first to bring together Christian bishops from across the Roman Empire.

It resulted in a statement of faith -- the Nicene Creed -- intended to exclude certain heresies.

The creed confirmed there was one God who exists in three parts -- the Father, the Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit -- which remains key doctrine for most Christian denominations.

The late Pope Francis was to visit Turkey for the anniversary of the Nicaea Council in May, but the trip was cancelled due to his ill health before he died on April 21 at the age of 88.

The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, has indicated that Leo wanted to go to Turkey, mentioning November 30, Saint Andrew's Day, as a possible date