His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was the keynote speaker on Saturday, June 21, 2025 at the Ecclesiastical Law Society’s 2025 Conference, “Nicaea Received: 1700 years of Canons, Councils and Ecumenism.”
This international conference, a landmark event for ecclesiastical lawyers, church historians, and ecumenists, was held in the historic Chichester Cathedral, which is celebrating its 950th anniversary as the Nicene Council marks its 1700th, and The Bishop’s Palace in Chichester, England, from Friday, June 20 to Sunday, June 22, 2025. Attending the conference were Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, National Commander of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and National Vice Commander Hon. B. Theodore Bozonelis.
His All-Holiness addressed the conference on the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and the council’s key role in the formation of core elements of canon law. The Ecumenical Patriarch also delivered a homily at the conclusion of Choral Evensong in the cathedral, in which he stated: “We stand together in this evensong, from the East and from the West, to pause and reflect upon the 1700 years since this sacred cleros that established the faith of the apostles once and for all.” In an address full of sacred joy and gratitude to God, His All-Holiness said: “We are filled with hope for the unity we seek.”
Discussing the central importance of the Council of Nicaea for the Christian faithful of all faith traditions, the Ecumenical Patriarch spoke movingly about the necessity to reestablish Christian unity: “We stand on the cusp of the third millennium of the faith of Jesus Christ, and the course of His Holy Church, for all the sinfulness of her members, has never deviated from the path set forth at Nicaea. So then, let us ask to renew this faith of the apostles, and for it to be revealed to all of us as the foundation for the unity that evades us, the unity we seek, the unity that has always been available, if only we open our eyes to it.”
His All-Holiness also pointed out that “Nicaea opens the door of experience of the most holy Trinity to every believer. To the wise and the foolish, to the intelligent and the unthinking, to those of the first hour as well as to those of the eleventh.”
View the Ecumenical Patriarch’s homily in its entirety here, beginning at 1:05:08.
The Dean of Chichester, the Very Rev. Dr. Edward Dowler, said: “It is a very great honor for the Cathedral to welcome His All-Holiness, a Christian leader of the greatest distinction and, in his office, successor to the apostle St Andrew. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Ecclesiastical Law Society for making this possible.”
2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, an event of cardinal importance in both ecclesiastical history and the history of the world in general. The “Nicaea Received” Conference explores the effects of this sacred council on ecclesiastical and canon law over the past 1700 years and up to the present day. Along with His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch, keynote addresses were given by Professor Myriam Wijlens, Professor of Canon Law at the University of Erfurt; and The Rt. Rev. Dr. Christopher Cocksworth, Dean of Windsor.
