Pope Leo XIV called on Christians to unite during his visit to Turkey, marking the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in a gesture aimed at ending the Great Schism that separated the Roman Catholic Church from Eastern Orthodox Christianity for nearly a millennium.

Leo called on Christians to overcome their divisions during a historic prayer meeting with Orthodox Church patriarchs in the city of Iznik, commemorating the anniversary of the creation of the Nicene Creed, a central statement of Christian faith that is recited by several denominations.