The Vatican publishes a document to mark 1,700th anniversary of the first Nicaea council

Vatican City, April 3, 2025 / 1:00 p.m.

The Vatican published a historic document on Thursday to recognize the opening of the Nicaea Council, summoned during the pontificate of Pope Sylvester I in 325.

The International Theological Commission (ITC) published the in-depth document “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior: The 1700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea” to underline the meaning of the first ecumenical council of the Church, which defended the divinity of Jesus Christ as a profession of faith in the midst of the propagation of the Hérésy Arian.

“This anniversary occurs in the year of the jubilee, centered on the theme” Christ our hope “, and he coincides with a shared celebration of Easter for Christians in the East and the West,” said the ITC press release.

The commission said Thursday that Nicéne’s credo “stood at the heart of the Church’s faith”.

“It is a source of living water to rely today to enter the gaze of Jesus and, in him, in the gaze that Abba, has towards all his children and towards the whole of creation.”

Stressing that the document is not only a historical file or a “text of academic theology”, the Vatican theological commission said that the publication responded to the desire of Pope Francis to promote fraternity among Christians and to inspire a greater participation of Catholic faithful in local churches.

“It is in Nicaea that the unity and mission of the Church first expressed themselves emblematic at a universal level (and from here, he draws his designation as an ecumenical council) through the synodal form of this` `march together ” which suits the church,” shared the ITC on Thursday.

“Nicaea is a reference point and an inspiration authorizing in the synodal process in which the Catholic Church is involved today, in its commitment to experience a conversion and a reform marked by the principle of relationship and reciprocity for the mission,” the press release said.

Responding to Pope Francis’ call to proclaim the faith in Jesus Christ in a world traveled by the “war tragedy as well as countless anxieties and uncertainties”, the theological commission said that the publication of the Nicaea Council can be used as a dynamic resource for Christian evangelization.

“The document highlights the relevance of these resources for a responsible and shared way of fighting against the change of time which has a global impact on culture and society,” the press release said. “Faith professed in Nicaea opens our eyes to the explosive and lasting novelty of the arrival of the Son of God among us.”

A special “study day” on the document will take place on May 20 at the Pontifical University of Urbaniana in Rome.