Patriarch Bartholomew says 1054 church division ‘not insurmountable’ as 1,700th Nicaea anniversary approaches

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople during an audience at the Patriarchal headquarters in Istanbul with the German Association of the Holy Land, Mar. 12, 2025. / Martin Rothweiler / EWTN Germany

CNA Newsroom, Mar 15, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople on Wednesday offered a hopeful historical assessment of the traditional 1054 date for the “Great Schism” between Rome and Constantinople, suggesting that tensions developed gradually over time and “are not insurmountable.”

“Of course, problems have accumulated over a thousand years. But we are full of hope that they will be resolved in a few years,” the patriarch emphasized during an audience in Istanbul on Mar. 12 with a pilgrimage group from the German Association of the Holy Land.

The honorary head of worldwide Orthodoxy made these comments in the presence of Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Emeritus Gregory III Laham, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (right) speaks with Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Emeritus Gregory III Laham during a meeting with the German Association of the Holy Land pilgrimage group in Istanbul, Mar. 12, 2025. Martin Rothweiler / EWTN Germany

The pilgrimage preceded the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea held in 325 A.D.

Rather than a sudden break in 1054 — the traditional date of the separation between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches — Patriarch Bartholomew suggested these tensions gradually strengthened over time.

The potential for a historic breakthrough in ecumenical relations has been building for some time. In January 2025, during vespers concluding the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis highlighted the “providential” timing of Easter falling on the same date in both the Gregorian and Julian calendars this year.

“Let us rediscover the common roots of the faith,” the pontiff urged. “Let us preserve unity!”

Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, has long supported efforts toward a common Easter date. In 2021, Koch welcomed a suggestion that the year 2025 would be an ideal time to introduce a calendar reform allowing both Eastern and Western Christians to celebrate Easter together.

“It will not be easy to agree on a common Easter date, but it is worth working for it,” Cardinal Koch stated at the time, adding that the initiative was “very dear to Pope Francis and also to the Coptic Pope Tawadros.”

*Calendar considerations*

The First Council of Nicaea, held in 325, decided that Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the beginning of spring, making the earliest possible date Mar. 22 and the latest possible Apr. 25.

Today, Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar to calculate the Easter date instead of the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced in 1582 and is used by most of the world. The Julian calendar calculates a slightly longer year and is currently 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, resulting in different dates for Easter celebrations most years.

One possible obstacle to a universal agreement could be ongoing tensions between different churches. In 2018, the Russian Orthodox Church severed ties to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople after Patriarch Bartholomew confirmed his intention to recognize the independence of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

During a meeting with the International Theological Commission at the Vatican in November 2024, Pope Francis confirmed his intention to travel to Turkey in May 2025 to mark this significant anniversary.

“I plan to go there,” Pope Francis stated, noting that the Council of Nicaea “constitutes a milestone in the journey of the Church and also of all humanity, because faith in Jesus, the Son of God made flesh for us and for our salvation, was formulated and professed as a light that illuminates the meaning of reality and the destiny of all history.”

However, the pope’s health situation may affect the planned pilgrimage to modern-day Turkey, as his ongoing hospitalization has raised questions about his ability to undertake the journey.