Pope Francis says he hopes to travel to Turkey next year to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Christianity’s first ecumenical council.

Should Pope Francis visit Turkey next year as he wishes to commemorate a landmark anniversary for the Council of Nicaea, it will mark a key opportunity for him to make advancements on several key ecumenical and geopolitical priorities.

The early centuries of Christianity were marked by debate about how Jesus could be both God and man, and the Church decided on the issue at the First Council of Nicaea in 325.