On the 7th Sunday after Pascha, the Orthodox Church commemorated the holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. Marking the 1700th anniversary of this landmark event, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia issued a pastoral message to the clergy, monastics, and faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In his address, Patriarch Kirill highlighted the enduring theological and ecclesial significance of the Council of 325 AD: “This year marks 1700 years since the epoch-making event in church history—the convocation of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, a small city near Constantinople.”
He recalled the severity of the Arian controversy, which necessitated the Council’s convocation:
“The minds of many had been captivated by the error of the Alexandrian presbyter Arius, who claimed that the Son of God is not true God, but merely the highest of His creations. In doing so, Arius sought to rationalize faith and reduce the great mystery of godliness (1 Tim. 3:16) to an abstract philosophical doctrine.”
The Patriarch emphasized the Council’s decisive rejection of heresy and the formulation of a core dogma of Christian faith: “The Church rejected this false teaching with conciliar wisdom and formulated the essential dogma of the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father, which we proclaim in the Symbol of Faith during the Divine Liturgy.”
Reflecting on Church history, the Patriarch reminded the faithful that it is not merely a study of the past, but a living source of spiritual insight:
“In the history of the Church lives and acts the Holy Spirit, guiding us into all truth (John 16:13). That is why I strongly encourage all of you to study church history—it helps us understand contemporary challenges in religious life, distinguish the essential from the secondary, and discern the spirits (1 Cor. 12:10).”
He reaffirmed that the Church has always responded to major challenges through collective discernment: “The Holy Spirit teaches the Church to respond to the challenges of the times with conciliar wisdom and fraternal dialogue… This is how it was at the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem, and at the Council of Nicaea in 325, which achieved a dogmatic victory over Arianism.”
Turning to present ecclesial challenges, Patriarch Kirill stressed the need for unity and synodality: “Today, when global Orthodoxy is undergoing a difficult period and deep theological reflection is required, we testify with conviction: the most important decisions affecting the very existence of the Church, her fidelity to apostolic teaching and canonical order, must be made together—in the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3).”
Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
