An elderly Greek Orthodox priest shouted 'Pope, you are a heretic' as Pope Francis was entering the Orthodox Archbishopric in Athens today and was taken away by police, a reminder of the lingering distrust between the two divided churches.
Video footage showed the man, who was dressed in black robes and a hat and had a long white beard, shouting the words in Greek outside the building before police bundled him away.
Witnesses said he shouted loud enough for the pope to hear the commotion - during which, the man appeared to have fallen while being taken away and was lifted up by police.
Francis arrived in Greece today for a three-day visit that Greek Catholics hope will bring the Eastern and Western churches closer together.
Christianity split into the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches in 1054 in what is referred to as the Great Schism, and for centuries relations were rocky.
In his address to the archbishop, Beatitude Ieronymos II, Francis asked forgiveness in the name of the Roman Catholic Church for its part in the historical wrongs that led to the breakup.
An elderly Greek Orthodox priest (pictured) shouted 'Pope, you are a heretic' as Pope Francis was entering the Orthodox Archbishopric in Athens today and was taken away by police, a reminder of the lingering distrust between the two divided churches
Moments after yelling at Pope Francis, police officers pounced on the priest and escorted him away
The elderly cleric was walked away down the street by a number of police officers after he yelled at the pope
After being taken away by police officers, the elderly cleric continued complaining to the officers stood around him
'Tragically, in later times we grew apart. Worldly concerns poisoned us, weeds of suspicion increased our distance and we ceased to nurture communion,' Francis told Ieronymos, whom he met during his first trip to Greece in 2016.
'I feel the need to ask anew for the forgiveness of God and of our brothers and sisters for the mistakes committed by many Catholics,' Francis said.
Pope John Paul II first asked forgiveness for the Catholic role in the break-up when he visited Greece in 2001.
Catholics and Orthodox have been involved in dialogue aimed at eventual reunion for decades and cooperate in many social initiatives but the two sides are still far apart theologically.
'We believe you have the courage and the sincerity to examine the failures and omissions of your fathers,' Ieronymos told Francis. 'Between those who want to be called Christian brothers, the best language is, and always will be, honesty.'
It comes as Pope Francis also warned today that the 'easy answers' of populism and authoritarianism threaten democracy in Europe and called for fresh dedication to promoting the common good.
Arriving in Greece, the birthplace of democracy, Francis used a speech to Greek political and cultural leaders to address Europe at large about the threats facing the continent. He said only robust multilateralism can address the pressing issues of the day, from protecting the environment to fighting the pandemic and poverty.
'Politics needs this, in order to put common needs ahead of private interests,' Francis said. 'Yet we cannot avoid noting with concern how today, and not only in Europe, we are witnessing a retreat from democracy.'
Francis, who lived through Argentina's populist Peronist era as well as its military dictatorship, has frequently warned about the threat of authoritarianism and populism and the danger it poses to the European Union and democracy itself.
Pope Francis smiles as he poses for a picture alongside Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou as she welcomed him to the presidential palace in Athens, Greece, earlier today
Pope Francis delivers a speech to a number of political and cultural leaders at the presidential palace in Athens, Greece, earlier today
President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou speaks to guests at the Presidential Palace in Athens, Greece, earlier today, as Pope Francis sits behind her listening
Delivering a speech at the Greek presidential palace earlier today, Pope Francis warned that the 'easy answers' of populism and authoritarianism threaten democracy in Europe
He didn't name any specific countries or leaders during his speech. The EU, however, is locked in a feud with members Poland and Hungary over rule-of-law issues, with Warsaw insisting that Polish law takes precedence over EU policies and regulations.
Outside the bloc, populist leaders in Brazil and the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump pressed nationalist policies on the environment that contrasted sharply with Francis' call to care for 'our common home.'
Opening the second leg of his five-day trip to Cyprus and Greece, Francis recalled that it was in Greece, according to Aristotle, that man became conscious of being a political animal and a member of a community of fellow citizens.
'Here, democracy was born,' Francis told Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou. 'That cradle, thousands of years later, was to become a house, a great house of democratic peoples. I am speaking of the European Union and the dream of peace and fraternity that it represents for so many peoples.'
Pope Francis shakes the hand of Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou at the top of the steps leading to the Greek Presidential Palace earlier today
The Greek president and Pope Francis share a few words together on day two of the pope's five-day trip to Greece and Cyprus
Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou sits and listens as Pope Francis addresses a room of people at the Presidential Palace
A number of gifts are laid out for Pope Francis during his trip to Greece, and he can be seen inspecting each of them
Pope Francis walks down the steps of his plane at the Eleftherios Venizelos international airport earlier today as he arrives in the country for a visit
That dream is at risk amid the economic upheaval and other disruptions of the pandemic that can breed nationalist sentiments and make authoritarianism seem 'compelling and populism's easy answers appear attractive,' Francis said.
'The remedy is not to be found in an obsessive quest for popularity, in a thirst for visibility, in a flurry of unrealistic promises ... but in good politics,' he said.
As an example, Francis praised the 'necessary vaccination campaign' promoted by government authorities to tame the coronavirus. He referenced another Greek philosopher - Hippocrates - in response to vaccine skeptics and virus deniers, who count many religious conservatives among them.
Francis cited the Hippocratic oath to not only do what is best for the sick, but to 'abstain from whatever is harmful and offensive to others,' especially the elderly.
Greece's president the sentiment in her speech. 'The virus spreads and mutates, helped by the irrational denial of reality and inequalities in our societies,' Sakellaropoulou said.
Greece is grappling with its highest level of coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic with deaths approaching record levels. A quarter of the country's adults remain unvaccinated, and Parliament recently approved a vaccine mandate for people over age 60.
A room at the Greek Presidential Palace is full with guests as Pope Francis delivers a speech on the state of Europe
Pope Francis took his time to examine each and every one of the gifts laid out for him at the Presidential Palace earlier today
Pope Francis sits next to Greek president Katerina Sakellaropoulou earlier today during his visit in the country
An honour book is laid out in front of Pope Francis for him to sign during his visit to Greece earlier today
A security officer greets Pope Francis as he arrives at the Greek Presidential Palace earlier today where he delivered an address to a number of political and cultural leaders
Francis' trip has been clouded by the Dec. 2 death of the Vatican's ambassador to the European Union, Archbishop Aldo Giordano. He and the president of the Italian bishops' conference were among several prelates who tested positive after celebrating Francis' final Mass in Slovakia in September.
The Vatican's EU embassy insisted that Giordano caught the virus days earlier during a European bishops' meeting in Hungary.
Francis' visit to Cyprus and Greece also has focused on the plight of migrants as Europe hardens its border control policies. He is scheduled to travel Sunday to the Aegean Sea island of Lesbos, where he visited five years ago to meet with migrants at a detention camp.
In Athens, Francis is also meeting the leader of Greece's Orthodox Church, Archbishop Ieronymos.
In 2001, Pope John Paul II became the first Catholic leader to visit Greece in more than 1,200 years and Francis' visit 20 years later is expected to further Catholic-Orthodox ties, still wounded by the Great Schism that divided Christianity.
A handout photo from the Vatican shows a packed hall at the Greek Presidential Palace where the pope delivered a speech earlier today
Pope Francis walks along a corridor at the Greek Presidential Palace earlier today during his visit to the country
A number of Greek police patrol the area surrounding the Orthodox Archbishopric of Greece ahead of the pope's visit
Pope Francis shakes hands with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Presidential Palace earlier today
Francis has accelerated inter-faith initiatives, as the two churches attempt to shift from centuries of competition and mistrust toward collaboration.
Orthodox churches are also seeking alliances amid a deepening dispute over the independence of the Ukrainian church, which was historically governed by the Russian Orthodox Church.
'I think the presence of the pope in Greece and Cyprus signals a return to the normal relationship that we should have ... so that we can move toward what is most important of all: the unity of the Christian world,' Ioannis Panagiotopoulos, an associate professor of divinity and church history at Athens University, told The Associated Press.
Up to 4,000 police officers were readied for duty in Athens for the pope's visit, and authorities banned protests and large public gatherings in parts of central Athens over the weekend.
The pope's visit ends Monday.
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