The discussion centred on the question of the common date of Easter, which had been defined at the Council of Nicaea in the year 325. This year marks the 1700th anniversary of this first “Ecumenical Council”.
While the Churches are today divided over the common date of Easter due to a calendar reform in the 16th century, J. Pillay is convinced that a common celebration of Easter would be a profound testimony to the power of Christ's victory over death and a visible witness to the world of the unity of his body, the Church. The Council of Nicaea invites us to ask ourselves: how can we, as a community of churches, work together to offer this visible sign of unity to the world?
He thanked the ‘Easter Together 2025’ initiative for seizing this opportunity. “The celebration of Nicaea this year is a good opportunity to give new impetus to the need for Christian unity, knowing that Jesus prayed and called on Christians to pray, to walk and work together, hand in hand, so that the world may believe”.
Elias Myrianthous, member of the Cypriot Parliament and the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, replied, “Through our Pasqua Together 2025 initiative, we are asking our Churches to re-establish the requirement of the first Ecumenical Council to celebrate together the resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. The resurrection is the pillar of our faith. It is inexcusable that this situation persists. Moreover, our initiative has another symbolic significance. It proclaims the unity of all Christians as an imperative in the face of the challenges of our time. For this reason, I hope that our efforts will continue.”
Martin Hoegger, a Reformed pastor collaborating with JC2033, who led the delegation hopes that this effort will continue beyond 2025. “I am very grateful for this meeting with Jerry Pillay and his engaging message. It is encouraging to see that on the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the WCC is moving towards 2033 by inviting the Churches to move forward hand in hand to bear witness to the Risen Christ, who is the heart of our faith and who unites us.”
The Focolare movement, another movement participating in Pasqua Together 2025, also shared its experience of unity, as part of the Global Gathering organised by JC2033, with more than 200 people from 35 countries. “With our limitations and our incompetence,” says Martine Schneider, “we seek to make the presence promised by Christ operative around us through a mutual love made up of small or larger gestures and frequent new beginnings. In this way, networks of relationships are woven where love circulates to allow God to manifest Himself through proximity, through capillarity. We are spurred on by the Word of God, received, chewed over, put into practice and witness to its effectiveness with its fruits which, if they are shared, create community”.
In the afternoon, a workshop on the Council of Nicaea also allowed Father Raffael Rieger, member of the committee of the network Together for Europe, and Professor Nikolaos Dimitriadis, president of CEMES, to affirm the importance of the Nicene Creed for Christian unity. Regarding the Nicene Creed, the latter calls for “a dialogue of truth and love that continually explores diversities, but above all discovers common elements. This will contribute to finding new paths towards an understanding of our faith for the unity of the Church of Christ”.
Moving forward ‘hand in hand’, from 2025 to 2033
On the evening of the same day, Jerry Pillay gave a lecture on ‘the importance of Christian unity for the ecumenical pilgrimage towards 2033’, in which he stated, “Our task is to share our faith in Jesus Christ with the world. This year, 2025, marks the 1700th anniversary of the first ecumenical council of Nicaea. It is important that Christians seize this opportunity to work together, to show the world that we are united, made one in Jesus our Lord. What a powerful witness this would be to the world! The Nicaea celebrations should be an occasion to work towards Christian unity as we move towards 2033”!
In 2024, the Pasqua Together 2025 initiative also met with Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and other church leaders.
Martin Hoegger
The delegation consisted of:
Elias Myrianthous, Member of the Cypriot Parliament, Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy
Nikolaos Dimitriadis, President of the Centre for Ecumenical, Missiological and Environmental Studies (CEMES), Greece
Raphaël Rieger, Catholic priest, member of the Together for Europe committee
Martine Schneider and Christian Müggler, Focolare Movement, Geneva
Eric Lecomte and Martin Hoegger, JC2033 International
Main picture: Gloria Charles/WCC
