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Patriarch Athenagoras


Patriarch Athenagoras (left) met Pope Paul VI in 1964

Patriarch Athenagoras (b. Tsaraplana, Epirus 1886 - d. Istanbul 1972) was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 1948 to 1972. His meeting with Pope John XXIII and Paul VI (1964) in the Second Vatican Council led to rescinding the 1054 excommunications of the Great Schism. This was a significant step towards restoring full communion between Rome and Constantinople.

See also: Eastern Orthodoxy - Michael Cerularius

Preceded by:
Maximus V
List of Constantinople patriarchs Succeeded by:
Demetrius I