Cardinal DiNardo reflects on 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed

Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, second from left, listens as Archbishop Borys Gudziak, at right, speaks during a panel event in Philadelphia reflecting on the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. (Photo courtesy of Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia)PHILADELPHIA — On Nov. 13, the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia hosted a special evening of ecumenical dialogue and reflection on the Nicene Creed at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia. The gathering brought together Church leaders, theologians, clergy and faithful for prayer, study and conversation, marking the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea.  

Part of the evening included addresses and a panel discussion with Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop emeritus of Galveston-Houston, and Archdeacon John Chryssavgis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Executive Director of the Huffington Ecumenical Institute. Archbishop Borys Gudziak served as moderator. 

Also among the bishops present were Bishop Paul Chomnycky of Stamford; Bishop Venedykt Aleksiychuk of St. Nicholas in Chicago; Auxiliary Bishop Keith J. Chylinski of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia; and Galveston-Houston Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, who visited Ukraine in 2024. 

The evening included vespers according to the Byzantine Rite, celebrated by Archbishop Borys Gudziak.

In their talks, Cardinal DiNardo and Archdeacon Chryssavgis described the historical setting of the Council of Nicaea. Convened only a few years after the end of severe persecutions, the council gathered bishops who had once preached in hiding and who suddenly found themselves summoned by Emperor Constantine to address theological divisions that threatened the unity of the empire. The emperor, they said, sought peace in his realm and recognized that the debates within the Christian community had become too consequential to ignore. 

Reflecting on the enduring impact of the Council, Cardinal DiNardo noted his pastoral perspective: “I’ve come ... as a pastor, as someone who knows and loves the Fathers of the Church — for they are with us and they are living memory.” 

Archdeacon Chryssavgis said, “1,700 years ago, a group of bishops gathered in a modest church in Nicaea to speak about God. They could not in their wildest dreams have imagined that their words would echo across continents and centuries.”
 
Both speakers emphasized that the central question before the bishops at Nicaea was both simple and profound: “Who is Jesus?” 

Cardinal DiNardo compared the council’s task to examining Jesus’ “ID card”: How is He one of us? How is He God? He explained that these discussions grew from the growing number of catechumens and the need for clear teaching on the identity and closeness of Christ. “I give credit to those monks who tried to help people understand who the Lord was,” Cardinal DiNardo said. 

The debate of the Council 1,700 years ago centered on the Greek term homoousios — “of one essence” — which expressed the Church’s conviction that Christ is of the same essence as the Father. The presenters also noted that the council addressed practical ecclesial matters, including the establishment of a common date for the celebration of Easter. 

“From our point of view, the most important issue is the doctrine on Jesus Christ — one in being, one in essence with the Father. But the bishops also discussed the date of Easter. Is there anything more central for Christians than Easter?” Cardinal DiNardo said in a separate interview. “Nicaea still lives in us today, if for no other reason than the creed they formulated — that same creed we recite every Sunday. “People may not realize it, but the beauty, the debates, and the intrigue of that council are embedded in every word we say on Sunday,” he said. 

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston was the largest supporter of the fund that supported medical and spiritual relief efforts in Ukraine. This didn’t surprise Cardinal DiNardo.

“Among Catholics in Southeast Texas, almost half are immigrants from South America,” he said. “They know what it is to live under oppression. So when they read about the horrors happening in Ukraine, our people responded with great generosity and compassion. It was Palm Sunday, and I am happy that they were attentive and responded so well.”

Archdeacon Chryssavgis said that the significance of Nicaea lies not only in the past but in its continuing influence: We are not simply recalling a distant historical event or ancient bishops’ assembly from 1,700 years ago, he said. “We are speaking first and foremost of an experience that shaped the conscience of the early Christian world and the structure of the early Christian Church — an experience that continues to inform how Christian believers think, how they worship and how they relate to one another, both in the Church and the broader society.”

He also said 2025 marked the 60th anniversary of the Lifting of the Anathemas in 1965, when St. Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras mutually revoked the excommunications that separated East and West since the 11th century. The evening concluded with an invitation to reflect on the future. The 1,700th anniversary of Nicaea, Archdeacon Chryssavgis said, is not merely a commemoration but an opportunity to imagine Christian unity anew. 

“Unity is crucial for us today,” said Cardinal DiNardo.