Pope to Turkey’s Christians: Nicaea still asks us, Who is Jesus for us? – aleteia.org

ANDREAS SOLARO | AFP
Giving an overview of Judeo-Christian history in Turkey, from Abraham through St. Paul and the Byzantine times, Pope Leo urged today’s small Christian community of Turkey to “nurture the seed of faith handed down to us by Abraham, the Apostles and the Fathers.”
The Holy Father met in the Latin Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Instanbul with bishops, priests, and other Church leaders, on November 28, the first full day of his trip.
Following the footsteps of Paul VI in 1967, John Paul II in 1979, Benedict XVI in 2006, and Francis in 2014, Pope Leo XIV walked up the nave of the Latin Cathedral to the enthusiastic cheers of the faithful. His eyes filled with tears as he took his place in the sanctuary of the church, where Catholic bishops and patriarchs were gathered, including Cardinal Sako, the Chaldean Patriarch, who had come from Iraq for the occasion. The Primate of the Syriac Catholic Church, Ignatius Joseph III Younan, was also present.
Acknowledging that Christians are a tiny minority in Turkey, the Pope urged them to trust in God’s ways.
When we look with God’s eyes, we discover that he has chosen the way of littleness, descending into our midst. This is the way of the Lord, to which we are all called to bear witness. […] This logic of littleness is the Church’s true strength. It does not lie in her resources or structures, nor do the fruits of her mission depend on numbers, economic power or social influence. The Church instead lives by the light of the Lamb; gathered around him, she is sent out into the world by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Pope also spoke of the significance of the Council of Nicea, and then of more recent history, the affection of the future St. John XXIII for Turkey.
I would like to recall someone so dear to you, Saint John XXIII, who loved and served the people of this land. He wrote, “I like to repeat what I feel in my heart: I love this country and its inhabitants.” 
About the Creed, formulated in Nicaea, where Pope Leo heads next, he said:
The Creed is not simply a doctrinal formula; it is an invitation to seek — amid different sensibilities, spiritualities and cultures — the unity and essential core of the Christian faith centered on Christ and on the Church’s Tradition. Nicaea still asks us: Who is Jesus for us? What does it essentially mean to be Christian? 
Read the full text here.
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