Pope Leo is going to Turkey this Thursday, November 27, to celebrate the 1700 years since the creation of the Nicene Creed. He will be joining Christian leaders from the eastern churches in the ancient city of Nicea,modern-day İznik. Then he will be traveling to Lebanon to visit the church in that country until December 2. 

In a letter a few days ago, the pope urged the whole Church to renew her enthusiasm for this fundamental profession of faith that church leaders agreed on in Nicea in 325. The creed is not simply an old document that settled a problem of the past, the pope writes.  It’s a “compass” into the future that can  be “ understood in ever new and relevant ways.”

Pope Leo recommends a significant study by the International Theological Commission published December 15, 2024: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour. 1700th Anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.  

The document offers an enlightening  history of the Creed as well as important suggestions for using it to confront the challenges we face in our world today. More than a summary of doctrinal propositions,  the Creed is “an icon of words,” introducing us into the mystery of God.

Glory to that One Who came
to us by His First-born.
Glory to that Silent One 
Who spoke by means of His Voice.
Glory to that Sublime One
Who was seen by means of His Dawn.
Glory to the Spiritual One
Who was well-pleased that
His Child should become a body so that 
through Him His power might be felt
and the bodies of His kindred might live again.  St. Ephrem the Syrian.

On November 24 Catholics celebrate the feast of Saint Andrew Dung– Lac and 117 other Vietnamese martyrs killed in the 18th century in a cruel persecution of Christians. Their martyrdom caused many non-Christians in their native land to inquire what made them so brave to endure such suffering and death. “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity,” the early Christian writer Tertullian said.

Since their time, many others in Vietnam have bravely given witness to their faith in wars and long years of persecution. Christianity is now strongly rooted in that part of the world.

The joy of the martyr has always puzzled those who do not share their faith. How can someone be joyful in the midst of great torture and pain. Here’s a letter of Saint Paul Le-Bao-Tinh, one of the Vietnamese martyrs:

“I, Paul, in chains for the name of Christ, wish to relate to you the trials besetting me daily, in order that you may be inflamed with love for God and join with me in his praises. The prison here is a true image of everlasting hell: to cruel tortures of every kind – shackles, iron chains, manacles – are added hatred, vengeance, calumnies, obscene speech, quarrels, evil acts, swearing, curses, as well as anguish and grief. But the God who once freed the three children from the fiery furnace is with me always; he has delivered me from these tribulations and made them sweet, for his mercy is for ever.
In the midst of  torments, that usually terrify others, I am, by the grace of God, full of joy and gladness, because I am not alone – Christ is with me.
I am not alone–Christ is with me.”

“Christ is with me. I am not alone–Christ is with me.” That’s the faith that enables Christians to enter the mystery of the passion of Jesus and know the joy of his resurrection. It’s a faith that explains the strength of the Church in Vietnam.

St. Clement of Rome is honored in an ancient church near the Colosseum that bears his name. It was probably built over his home. A wonderful place to visit when in Rome.

Clement is an important leader of the Roman church evolving after the death of the apostles in the 2nd century. He experienced a changing church, from apostles like Peter and Paul to charismatic preachers like Apollos to bishops. It was not an easy change for the various Christian communities.

As a leader of the Roman church, Clement appealed to the Corinthians in an important letter written around the year 95. Do what Jesus told his followers to do, he wrote, follow him as one flock follows its shepherd. Walk together. The church at Corinth was having troubles with its leadership.

Taking the Roman legions and the human body as examples, Clement urges the Corinthians to become one in Jesus Christ:

“Think of the soldiers who serve under our generals, and with what order, obedience, and submissiveness they perform the things which are commanded them. Not all are prefects, nor commanders of a thousand, nor of a hundred, nor of fifty, nor the like, but each one in his own rank performs the things commanded by the king and the generals. The great cannot subsist without the small, nor the small without the great. There is a kind of mixture in all things, and thence arises mutual advantage.

“Let us take our body for an example. The head is nothing without the feet, and the feet are nothing without the head. The very smallest members of our body are necessary and useful to the whole body. All work harmoniously together and they are under one common rule for the preservation of the whole body.

“In Christ Jesus let our whole body be preserved intact. Let every one of us be subject to his neighbor, according to the special gift bestowed upon him.

“Let the strong not despise the weak, and let the weak show respect to the strong. Let the rich provide for the wants of the poor; and let the poor bless God, who has given them what they need. Let the wise display their wisdom, not by mere words, but through good deeds. Let the humble not bear testimony to themselves, but leave witness to be borne to them by others. Let those who are pure in the flesh not grow proud of it and boast, knowing another has bestowed the gift of continence on them.

“Let us consider, then, brothers and sisters, of what matter we were made. Let us consider how we came into this world, as it were out of a grave, and from utter darkness: who and what manner of beings we were. God who made us and fashioned us, having prepared bountiful gifts for us before we were born, introduced us into this world.

“Since we receive all these things from God, we ought for everything to give God thanks; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Evidently, the problem of church leadership Clement addressed was not limited to Corinth. His letter was read in a number of other Christian communities at the time. The transition from apostles to bishops was not an easy one; the Roman church faced it as well.

Historians like Eamon Duffy see the Roman church originating in the large, thriving Jewish community in Rome that was concentrated in Trastevere and spread out to found numerous synagogues in the city– some of which evolved into early Christian house churches. Peter and Paul, who came to the city and were put to death there in the Neronian persecution ( 62-63 AD), were acknowledged and celebrated by these house churches as their leaders in faith. 

“The Roman synagogues,” Duffy writes, “unlike their counterparts in Antioch, had no central organization. Each one conducted its own worship, appointed its own leaders and cared for its own members. The same way, the ordering of the early Christian community in Rome seems to have reflected the organization of the synagogues which had originally sheltered it, and to have consisted of a constellation of independent churches, meeting in the houses of the wealthy members of the community. Each of these house churches had its own leaders, the elders or ‘presbyters’. They were mostly made up of immigrants, with a high proportion of slaves or freedman among them–the name of Pope Eleutherius means ‘freedman’.”(Saints and Sinners. A History of the Popes. Eamon Duffy, Yale University Press, 1997 p 6)

Rome was slow to recognize a chief bishop, Duffy and other historians claim. Clement was later recognized in the list of popes, but more likely he was spokesman for the Roman house churches, representing an eminent church whose leaders were apostles, Peter and Paul. He was designated to write to the Corinthians urging them to unity under their bishop. 

Pope Francis wrote a letter encouraging historians to tell the story of the church in the context of its time and place. The story of the papacy needs to be told that way. The papacy as we know it emerged slowly. San Clemente and Saints John and Paul nearby are two Roman house churches from the early Christian period. Visit them if you’re in Rome. They have stories to tell.