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John Paul II

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Relations with the Eastern Orthodox Church
==Relations with the Eastern Orthodox Church==
===Visit to Relations with Romania===
In May 1999, John Paul II visited Romania on the invitation of his Beatitude [[Teoctist (Arapasu) of Romania|Teoctist]], the [[Patriarch]] of the [[Church of Romania|Romanian Orthodox Church]]. This was the first time a Pope had visited a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the [[Great Schism]]. On his arrival, the Pope was greeted by Patriarch Teoctist and Romanian President Emil Constantinescu. The Patriarch stated, "The second millennium of Christian history began with a painful wounding of the unity of the Church; the end of this millennium has seen a real commitment to restoring Christian unity." {{Fact|date=June 2007}}
On [[May 9]], the Pope and the Patriarch each attended a worship service conducted by the other (an Orthodox [[Divine Liturgy|Liturgy]] and a Catholic [[Mass]], respectively). A crowd of hundreds of thousands of people turned up to attend the worship services, which were held in the open air. The Pope told the crowd, "I am here among you pushed only by the desire of authentic unity. Not long ago it was unthinkable that the bishop of Rome could visit his brothers and sisters in the faith who live in Romania. Today, after a long winter of suffering and persecution, we can finally exchange the kiss of peace and together praise the Lord." A large part of Romania's Orthodox population has shown itself warm to the idea of Christian reunification. {{Fact|date=June 2007}}
===Visit to Relations with Greece===
Two years later, in 2001, John Paul II became the first Pope to visit Greece in almost 1300 years, since the visit of Pope Constantine I (r. 708-715) in 710. The visit was controversial, and the Pontiff was met with protests and snubbed by Eastern Orthodox leaders, none of whom met his arrival.
However, during the visit the Pope avoided any mention of Cyprus, still a source of tension between the two faiths.
===Relations with other Orthodoxcountries===
John Paul II visited other heavily Orthodox areas such as [[Church of Ukraine|Ukraine]], despite lack of welcome at times, and he said that an end to the Schism was one of his fondest wishes.
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