Is the Pope's Visit a Blessing or a Curse? - 2

Let us underline four points from our article yesterday regarding the visit of Vatican Head of State Pope Leo XIV to our country from November 27-29, on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, which holds an important place in the history of Christianity.

According to the Treaty of Lausanne, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is a Turkish institution subordinate to the Fatih District Governorship, and the Patriarch at its head is a Turkish citizen. However, Patriarch Bartholomew, claiming to be the religious leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, has begun using the title 'Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome' in addition to 'ecumenical' status...

The Vatican also views Bartholomew as the 'Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople'...

The ceremony to be held on the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, which took place in 325 and played a significant role in shaping Christian doctrine, aims to 'deepen the relationship between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church and foster inter-Christian dialogue'...

During the Trump-Bartholomew meeting on September 15, Vice President Vance, a devout Catholic who closely follows the dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, stated that 'Rome and Constantinople are the two main pillars of Christianity'...

Joint Declaration

First, let us provide information about Pope Leo XIV's schedule. According to the statement from the Vatican, he will arrive in Ankara on November 27. After visiting Anıtkabir, he will meet with Erdoğan as well as some officials, civil society representatives, and diplomats before heading to Istanbul. On November 28, after a meeting with bishops and priests there, he will travel by helicopter to Nicaea to attend a mass and then return to Istanbul. On November 29, he will visit the Blue Mosque. He will hold a private meeting with the leaders of the churches in Istanbul and the Christian community.

The most important part of the program is this: He will meet with Bartholomew at the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and they will sign a joint declaration.

Before heading to Lebanon on November 30, the Pope will also hold a mass at the Armenian Church and then have lunch with Bartholomew at the 'Ecumenical Patriarchate'.

In short, the Pope, too, will blatantly trample on the Treaty of Lausanne!..

The Ottoman Empire and Atatürk's Policy

Since the government claims to be 'Ottomanist,' let us look at the Pope-Bartholomew meeting—a very significant step toward the unification of the Catholic and Orthodox worlds—from a historical perspective.

The Ottoman Empire, particularly under Fatih Sultan Mehmet, gathered the Orthodox under the umbrella of the Fener Greek Patriarchate and supported the Patriarchate against Rome. In other words, a policy of dividing the Christian world was pursued.

Both Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan consider all activities of the Patriarchate to be 'religious affairs,' but let us read the article by retired Major General Armağan Kuloğlu, published in Yeniçağ Newspaper on September 19.

Kuloğlu primarily emphasized the following:

'The critical issue here is that the visit is also viewed as an opportunity for ecumenical solidarity and dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox world, and it is noted that the visit will include meetings with the Catholic community in Turkey and the Fener Greek Patriarchate. It is a known fact that these meetings have the potential to strengthen relations between the Catholic and Orthodox worlds, especially with the Istanbul Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. Patriarch Bartholomew is burning with desire for ecumenicity, and some countries, led by the USA, are supporting this... It is evident that this is being pursued despite the known negative impact on Turkey's security... A Pope's visit to this historic Christian site in Turkey, a modern and Muslim country, can be interpreted as a symbol of interfaith and geopolitical significance, as well as both a demonstration of presence and a historical recognition. However, it should not be viewed merely as a simple historical event for the Christian world. The great religious council convened in Nicaea in 325 AD at the call of Roman Emperor Constantine not only ended debates regarding faith but also placed religion at the center of politics, transforming faith from being merely a spiritual matter into a tool of imperial governance—that is, it officially politicized religion.'

He then drew attention to the potential consequences of the visit, along with the following historical context:

“One of the goals of this visit, and an important one at that, is to remind people that Nicaea (İznik) is a sacred center and to update this status. Considering the sensitivity of both this issue and the concept of ecumenism, it is worth noting that 100 years ago, a similar visit request by the Pope of that era was clearly rejected by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founding leader of the young Republic of Turkey. This is because the Great Leader viewed the matter not merely as a religious visit, but as an attempt to open a spiritual window into Turkish territory through Nicaea in the Western memory; his opposition to this visit was seen as part of the Republic's reflex to protect its sovereignty. It can be said that today the same scenario is back on stage with different actors; the visit is being presented as a religious gesture of innocence by coinciding with the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, and it is being used as a vehicle to create space for Catholic-Orthodox rapprochement... It is also being pointed out that this is not just a religious and protocol visit, that Nicaea is still on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list, that pressure for 'permanent status' may increase after this visit, that rhetoric regarding an 'international religious zone' based on cultural heritage may be brought to international platforms over time, and that this could pave the way for future discussions on 'autonomous status.' Excavation work at the Council Basilica, which was discovered underwater in 2007, is supported by EU funds. These excavations can be seen not only as scientific but also as part of a symbolic recall. It is assessed that presenting this church as the 'common heritage of the Christian world' could go beyond saying 'we were here' and turn into a claim of 'we are here,' which could be an imposition of meaning on the future, not just a remembrance of the past. It is also considered useful to analyze the intent behind foreign media outlets like the BBC and The Guardian framing this visit as 'the return of Christianity to its roots in Anatolia.'”

The Goal is to Equate the Pope and Bartholomew

Let us add some developments that confirm these very important findings by Armağan Kuloğlu.

Patriarch Bartholomew, while repeating his invitation to Nicaea to the Patriarch of Jerusalem during a recent liturgy, emphasized that the Council of Nicaea was “a concrete manifestation of the unity of Eastern and Western Christianity, of the four patriarchs of the East and the patriarch of the West”...

At the Autumn Meeting of the Archdiocesan Council held on October 17 by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which is under Bartholomew, it was stated that “efforts are being made to have the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Pope recognized as equals in Christianity”...

The Vatican announced that the statement summarizing Pope Leo XIV's “trip to Asia Minor with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is ‘one Lord, one faith, one baptism’”...

And a historic event occurred after 500 years; for the first time since King Henry VIII of England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534, King Charles, the head of the Church of England (Anglican), met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican and attended a mass led by the Pope. King Charles, who was assigned a special chair inscribed with the words “that they may be one,” and the Pope bestowed upon each other the titles of “Royal Brother, Papal Brother, and Knight Grand Cross”...

While the Islamic World is Fragmenting

In short; while the 2-billion-strong Islamic world cannot act in unison even in the face of the genocide in Gaza, and while efforts are being made to divide it further through the Abraham Accords, the Christian world is coming together like this.

Speaking of the Abraham Accords; an event that rabbis from the US, Israel, and Europe wanted to organize in Sarajevo last June was canceled following public backlash.

The rabbis, who wrote a letter to Trump for Azerbaijan—Israel's second-largest oil supplier—to join the Abraham Accords, moved to hold a "Conference of European Rabbis" in Baku from November 4-6. The focus of the conference was the Abraham Accords. Not only Azerbaijanis but also the Vatan Party reacted to the meeting. Writing a letter to President Aliyev, Doğu Perinçek stated that it was impossible for Azerbaijan to take a place in the US-Israel front and demanded the cancellation of the conference. Ultimately, that conference was canceled, and Perinçek dedicated this victory to the Turkish and Islamic world.

Returning to the Council of Nicaea; as we mentioned yesterday, this meeting, which was originally planned for May, was postponed following the death of Pope Francis.

Nevertheless, officials from the IYI Party, the Victory Party (Zafer Partisi), and the Vatan Party, along with leaders of the Turkish Orthodox Church, retired Admiral Cihat Yaycı, and retired Colonel Orkun Özeller—who was arrested 49 days ago for opposing the opening—went to Nicaea (İznik) to protest the meeting. In the statements made, it was emphasized that "the Pope and the Phanar are joining hands to dream of a 'council' in Nicaea, seeking to undermine the Turkish State, re-usurp Istanbul, and revive the rag of the Treaty of Sèvres by rendering the Treaty of Lausanne ineffective."

Let us see, will it be possible to ensure this is also canceled, just like the Rabbis' Conference?

Look at this absurdity;

A few days ago in Eskişehir, three people who walked around during Halloween with a cross made of beer crates were detained on charges of "inciting the public to hatred and hostility/insulting."

Yet, we do not have a single official who speaks out against the Crusaders who are taking action to plant a giant cross in the middle of İznik, where the foundations of the Ottoman Empire were laid, and to bring the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to an equal status with the Vatican!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

November 4, 2025