WASHINGTON

A senior US diplomat will travel to Türkiye this week as part of Washington’s participation in events marking the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, which Pope Leo XIV will also attend.

Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Michael Rigas will travel to Türkiye, Iraq and Israel from Nov. 27 to Dec. 5, with stops in Istanbul, Baghdad, Erbil and Jerusalem, the State Department said Tuesday.

In Türkiye, Rigas will lead the US delegation for the celebration of the Council of Nicaea and hold talks with Turkish counterparts “to advance the US–Türkiye bilateral relationship.”

He will also meet with Istanbul’s Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew, according to the statement.

The First Council of Nicaea, convened in AD 325 by the Roman Emperor Constantine, brought together bishops from across the early Christian world and produced foundational decisions on core doctrines, including the status of Jesus and his relationship to God.

Nicaea is the ancient name of Iznik, a lakeside town in Türkiye’s Bursa province near Istanbul.

After Türkiye, Rigas will travel to Iraq, where he will meet with Iraqi officials, tour US diplomatic facilities and inaugurate the new US Consulate General in Erbil, the statement said.

He will conclude his regional trip in Israel, where he is expected to “reaffirm the ironclad” US-Israel relationship, it added.