The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has focused his Easter reflection this year on the celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the opening of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (325), which set forth the core Christian beliefs about the triune nature of God in the Creed.

In the message, the head of the Greek-Orthodox Church underscores that the celebration of this landmark anniversary “is not a return to the past”  but rather a reminder of the “spirit of Nicaea” that continues to animate the Church’s life and mission today.

This spirit, he writes, entails fidelity to the conciliar identity and a shared responsibility to guard against distortions of the Christian faith.

A key element in this year’s Easter celebration is its shared observance by both Eastern and Western branches of Christianity. According to Patriarch Bartholomew, this coincidence is more than symbolic—it is a testament to the enduring legacy of Nicaea, which not only standardized the calculation of Easter but also shifted ecclesial governance from a local to an ecumenical and synodal model.

This historical movement towards unity and conciliar decision-making, he notes,  is echoed in the current push for synodality, a concept equally cherished by Pope Francis.

The significance of Christian unity in the Council of Nicaea and the common celebration of Easter this year are also highlighted by the World Council of Churches (WCC).

In its Easter Message, signed by the WCC general secretary Rev. Jerry Pillay and the moderator of the WCC central committee Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, the ecumenical body challenges Churches to make this shared Easter a norm in the future as  “a profound sign of reconciliation and a tangible expression of the unity for which Christ prayed.”

“Could it not always be so, with a common feast of Easter, the heart of our shared faith? It would be a profound sign of reconciliation and a tangible expression of the unity for which Christ prayed.”

As the Church prepares to celebrate the Resurrection Christ, the message invites Christians  to embrace their time, their world, and one another, striving always toward the day when true unity is realized.

 “In a world where despair often feels stronger than hope, and fragmentation is more visible than fellowship, the Church is not called to retreat—but to witness boldly, joyfully, in one accord”, the message says, urging  the faithful not merely to proclaim Christ's Resurrection unto death with their words but to live it out in their daily lives.