Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis are in talks for the annual co-celebration of Easter by the two Churches, prompted by the fact that in 2025 Easter (Holy Pascha) falls on the same day in the Orthodox and Catholic ecclesiastical calendars in 2025.
The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate unanimously expressed a hope for the establishment of a joint celebration, starting in the spring of 2025.
The coming Easter, on April 20, 2025, aligns on the calendar for both churches, the two largest Christian denominations in size.
A statement by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantintople reads: “In this spirit, the unanimous wish is expressed that the common celebration of Easter by Eastern and Western Christianity in the coming year should not simply be a fortunate coincidence, but the beginning of the establishment of a common date for its celebration annually, by the Pascha of our Orthodox Church.”
In his address to the Synod, His All Holiness Bartholomew I reminded the Hierarch Metropolitans of the Patriarchate that in late May 2025, an official celebration will take place in Nicaea (modern-day Iznik in Turkey), in the ancient northwest Asia Minor province of Bithynia, to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the convening of the First Ecumenical Council.
The First Ecumenical Council, convening in 325 AD in Nicaea, was held in a significant center for early Christianity during the dawn of the Eastern Roman Empire (known today to historians as the Byzantine Empire). The decisions made at the landmark council are considered crucial for the unity of the Churches, which adhere to the Nicene Creed, which is recognized by Orthodox, Catholic, and some Protestant Churches.
Following the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in 381 AD, the Nicene Creed was further embellished with the addition of a paragraph, part of which focused on the Holy Spirit, which resulted in a gradual drift and ultimately a dispute between the two Churches over the inclusion of the word “filioque,” which means ‘and the Son’ to the Creed.
At the anniversary celebration to be held in May in Nicaea, the Primate of the Catholic Church will also be present. Last December, for the first time, he expressed his desire to establish a common Easter celebration.
Ecumenical Patriarch on Chios
In a related development, Bartholomew on Thursday arrived on the eastern Aegean island of Chios (Hios) to attend and speak at a conference dedicated to climate change, organised by the North Aegean regional government as part of the 3rd Chios festival.
On Friday, the Ecumenical Patriarch will attend a special session of the regional authority’s council. The Primate of the Orthodox Church will also visit the library of the Metropolis of Chios, Psara and Oinousses, where he will be declared an honorary president of the institution.
