16.10.2025
Theological Orthodoxy and the Ecumenical Journey: Learning from the Council of Nicaea
Communiqué of the Porvoo Theological Conference, Cardiff, October 7–9 2025
Every year, the Porvoo Communion arranges a conference in October for the member churches around a particular theme. In 2025, in celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the Communion held its triennial theological conference in Cardiff on the theme: Theological Orthodoxy and the Ecumenical Journey: Learning from the Council of Nicaea, generously hosted by the Church in Wales.
At the Opening Eucharist, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Faroe Islands signed the Porvoo Declaration and was welcomed with great joy as a new member of the Porvoo Communion. This was a significant highlight of this year’s conference, and was attended by the Bench of Bishops of the Church in Wales alongside the participants from the Porvoo churches attending the Conference. The Bishops also hosted a special reception with invited guests from denominations and organisations involved in Welsh ecumenical life, where Welsh culture was celebrated with music from a traditional ‘plygain1’ service.
During the Conference, the participants worshipped together and visited several places of interest in Cardiff and experienced some of the Welsh context. The importance of the bilingual environment was highlighted by a visit to the Senedd (parliament) where a copy of Bishop Morgan’s 1588 Welsh Bible was on display, widely credited with helping to preserve the Welsh language by making Scripture accessible to Welsh speakers. The strength of diversity was underpinned by taking part in Ecumenical Vespers in the Roman Catholic Cathedral on the eve of the Feast of St John Henry Newman, where the Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams was invited to give the reflection, and by meeting in a venue operated by the Roman Catholic Church.
Professor Catrin Haf Williams and Bishop Rowan Williams delivered the two keynote addresses entitled ‘Investigating the Origins and Shape of Early Divine Christology’ and ‘Nicaea, the New Creation, and the Body of Christ’, respectively.
Shorter presentations were given by various participants during the three conference and discussion sessions which examined historical and contemporary perspectives on the
Council and its Creed:
– The Council of Nicaea: Inscribing the bounds of Christological Orthodoxy
– Beyond Nicaea: The Christ of the Councils as the guarantor of Christian Unity?
– The Nicene Legacy: How does the Council of Nicaea shape our ecumenical and interreligious commitments 1700 years later?
The Nicene Creed is common to all the churches of the Porvoo Communion and therefore is a strong foundation for our unity. Across a wide–ranging set of contributions, the Conference explored the tension between the Nicene Creed as a static formulation of belief and a lived expression of faith in worship.
The annual meeting of the Porvoo Communion reaffirms our desire to work together in the mission of the Church as Lutherans and Anglicans in Europe, learning from each other as churches. This will continue in 2026, when the Primates and Presiding Bishops of the Porvoo Communion will meet in England.
Archbishop Michael Jackson, the Anglican co–chair, preached at the concluding Eucharist of the Conference. You can read his service by clicking here.
List of participants:
The Church of England
The Revd Canon Professor Mark Chapman
The Revd Dr Matthias Grebe*
The Revd Katherine Price
The Church of Ireland
The Revd Canon Stephen Fielding*
The Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson* (Anglican co–chair)
Dr Andrew Pierce
The Lusitanian Church (Portugal)
The Revd Sérgio Alves
The Rt Revd Jorge Pina Cabral*
The Scottish Episcopal Church
The Revd Canon Professor Charlotte Methuen
Ms Miriam Weibye*
The Church in Wales
The Revd Canon Dr Mark Clavier
The Revd Canon Dr Ainsley Griffiths* (Anglican co–secretary)
The Venerable Dr Hayley Matthews
The Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland Jones
The Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams
Delegates and speakers from the other Welsh churches
The Revd Dr Susan Durber (United Reformed Church and World Council of Churches)
Professor Catrin H. Williams (Union of Welsh Independents)
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark
The Rt Revd Mads Davidsen
The Revd Dr Thorsten Rørbæk* (Lutheran co–secretary)
Dean Christina Rygaard Kristiansen
The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church
The Rt Revd Marko Tiittus
The Revd Dr Tauno Teder*
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Faroe Islands
Senior Principal Bergur Berg
Mrs Ingibjørg Berg
Dean Ovi Brim
The Rt Revd Jógvan Fríðriksson
Ms Maria Eiriksdóttir
The Revd Professor Dr Jákup Reinert Hansen
Ms Jóhanna Hansen
Dean Uni Næs
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
The Revd Mikko Estama
The Revd Dr Saara–Maria Jurva
The Revd Dr Tomi Karttunen*
The Rt Revd Dr Matti Repo* (Lutheran co–chair)
The Lutheran Church in Great Britain
The Revd Meelis Süld*
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Iceland
The Revd Bjarni Thor Bjarnason*
The Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide
The Revd Zilgme Eglite*
The Church of Norway
Ms Beate Fagerli*
The Rt Revd Herborg Finnset
The Revd Dr Inge Westly
The Church of Sweden
The Rt Revd Dr Johan Dalman
The Very Revd Dr Christopher Meakin*
Prof Dr Jakob Wirén
The Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe
The Revd Prof Dr Thomas–Andreas Põder
* Denotes member of the Porvoo Contact Group