Prof. Hyacinthe Destivelle, OP (Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas – Angelicum, Italy)

Nicaea in the Ecumenical Dialogues of the Catholic Church

This contribution will identify the recourse to the Council of Nicaea in the various bilateral theological dialogues in which the Catholic Church has been engaged internationally and locally since the Second Vatican Council with other Christian traditions, both Eastern and Western. An attempt will be made to show how the faith of Nicaea and the synodal ecclesiology promoted by the Council remain touchstones for Christian unity in ecumenical dialogue.

Curriculum Vitae

Prof. Hyacinthe Destivelle is a Dominican priest from the Province of Toulouse (France). He holds a doctorate in Theology (Institut Catholique de Paris and Institut de Théologie Orthodoxe Saint-Serge), a doctorate in Slavic studies (Université de Paris-Sorbonne), and a PhD in Philosophy (Saint Petersburg State University). He was the director of the Centre for Ecumenical Studies and of the journal Istina in Paris (2005–10), and was pastor at Saint Catherine’s parish in Saint Petersburg (2010–13). Since 2013, he has been an official of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, in charge of relations with the Slavic Orthodox Churches (2013–18), then with the Oriental Orthodox Churches (since 2018). Since 2019, he has also been director of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas – Angelicum’s Institute for Ecumenical Studies. In 2023–24 he participated as an expert theologian in the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality. He is the author of numerous publications on ecumenism, ecclesiology and Catholic-Orthodox dialogue.

Publications and Works

- Le concile de Moscou de 1917–1918: La création des institutions conciliaires de l’Eglise orthodoxe russe, Paris: Cerf, 2006. - Les sciences théologiques en Russie: Réforme et renouveau des académies ecclésiastiques au début du XXe siècle, Paris: Cerf, 2010. - Conduis-la vers l’unité parfaite: Œcuménisme et synodalité, Paris: Cerf, 2018. - Les chrétiens de l’Est après le communism: Réveil des Eglises nationales et avancées œcuméniques, Paris: Cerf, 2020. - Un, tous, quelques-uns: Dynamique synodale et unité des chrétiens, Paris: Cerf, 2025.