2033: On the Road to Jerusalem Together – Unity in Hope, Unity in Easter

The 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which this year invites us to return to the common foundations of our faith, also compels us to look forward with the same fervor and courage that the Fathers of the Church showed as they faced the challenges of their own time. The commemoration of that pivotal event—so decisive in shaping the Creed shared by both Eastern and Western Christians—intertwines with another decisive horizon: the year 2033, marking two thousand years since the Redemption accomplished by Christ. That date, now drawing near, is not just a symbolic milestone but a moment of grace, a kairos, for a bolder and more tangible journey toward the visible unity of all disciples of the Risen One. As Pope Francis reminded us in the Jubilee Bull Spes non confundit, this Holy Year sets us on that very path, as pilgrims of hope, called to be consoled by the Spirit and, in turn, to bring consolation to a wounded world. Redemption is not merely something to remember; it is the ever-living source of hope—one that can transform hearts and relationships among the Churches.

The ecumenical pilgrimage of Christians from the United States to Rome and Constantinople, led by Metropolitan Elpidophoros and Cardinal Tobin, stands as a powerful sign of this shared desire to return to the roots of our faith, in order to journey together toward Jerusalem—the City of Peace. There, where Peter and Andrew received the Holy Spirit alongside the other Apostles, everything began. From there, we can dream of a new beginning for Christianity in the third millennium. But to reach that spiritual and symbolic Jerusalem, prophetic gestures are needed—gestures that show unity is not a utopian ideal but a gift to be prayed for and embraced through concrete choices.

One such gesture, long hoped for and now more urgent than ever, could be the return to a single, shared date for the celebration of Easter—a visible sign of profound agreement on what matters most. The Resurrection of the Lord is the heart of Christian faith, and this year's joint Alleluia—sung in unison thanks to the alignment of the Eastern and Western calendars—offered a glimpse of the joy that flows from unity. For this reason, the year 2033, commemorating the original Easter two millennia ago, could become a turning point—a moment for the Churches to agree on a common celebration. A simple yet powerful act: to return to the ancient Nicaean method of calculating the date of Easter, following the tradition of the Greek Catholic Church, which does not rely on the Gregorian calendar but honors a shared ancient practice.

This would not be an archaic retreat into the past, but a courageous act inspired by a spiritual wisdom that can still unite us today, despite our differences. It is not a matter of liturgical arithmetic but a theological, spiritual, and ecclesial gesture—one that tells the world Christians can walk together, that they do not need to compete over symbols, but can testify with one heart and one soul to the mystery of the crucified and risen Christ.

If embraced in a spirit of synodality, such a move could become the tangible sign of a journey already underway—one made possible by decades of dialogue, shared prayer, and healing gestures. Since the historic Joint Declaration of 1965, when Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras lifted the mutual excommunications from the Great Schism of 1054, our churches have taken an irreversible turn toward reconciliation. A pilgrimage like today's would have been unthinkable before that moment. The Holy Spirit stirred hearts to take those first steps—a prophetic sign pointing toward full, visible unity.

We too must now keep moving forward. Like the Good Samaritan in the Gospel, we are called to pour the oil of consolation and the wine of joy on the wounds of today's humanity. And that healing can begin with a visible gesture of ecclesial unity—a common calendar that overcomes misunderstandings and pride. Ecumenical dialogue must become ecumenical synodality: mutual listening, shared discernment, co-responsibility in the Church's mission. Only then can the Christian witness in today's world be credible—a world searching for answers to the darkness of violence, division, and despair.

Pope Leo XIV, in his address to the pilgrims at Castel Gandolfo, expressed just how alive and deep this longing for unity is. With simple yet powerful words, he reminded us that no cry of suffering will go unheard if we let ourselves be guided by hope—if we still know how to look to Peter, Paul, and Andrew not as figures that divide the Churches, but as brothers in the faith, witnesses of the same Lord. The year 2033 can become the year of a common Easter, of synodality lived as rediscovered fraternity, of an embrace between Rome, Constantinople, and all the Churches. But we must have the courage to choose it. We must have the courage to return to Nicaea—not to repeat the past, but to be renewed by it. We need a sign, even a small one, to say to the world: Christ is risen, truly risen—for all—and we are one Church, ready to celebrate together the heart of our faith.

Marco Baratto