Editing Pope Paul VI (section)

====Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Apostolic====

Paul VI visited the Eastern Orthodox Apostolic Patriarchs of [[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] and [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Constantinople]] in 1964 and 1967. He was the first pope since the ninth century to visit the East, labelling the Eastern Churches as sister churches.<ref name="Franzen 429">{{Harvnb|Franzen|1988|p= 429}}</ref> He was also the first pope in centuries to meet the heads of various [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] communities. Notably, his meeting with [[Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I]] in 1964 in [[Jerusalem]] led to rescinding the [[excommunication]]s of the [[East-West Schism|Great Schism]], which took place in 1054.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Collins|first1=Michael|title=The Vatican|date=2014|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=London|isbn=9780756689001|page=75}}</ref>

This was a significant step towards restoring communion between Rome and Constantinople. It produced the [[Catholic-Eastern Orthodox Apostolic Joint Declaration of 1965]], read on 7 December 1965, simultaneously at a public meeting of the Second Vatican Council in Rome and at a special ceremony in Istanbul. The declaration did not end the schism but showed a desire for greater reconciliation between the two churches.<ref name="Franzen 429" /> In May 1973, the [[Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic Patriarch]] [[Shenouda III]] of Alexandria from the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]] visited the Vatican, where he met three times with Pope Paul VI. A common declaration and a joint [[creed]] issued after the visit proclaimed unity in a number of theological issues,<ref name="Franzen 430" /> but also that other theological differences "[[Council of Chalcedon|since the year 451]]" "cannot be ignored" while both traditions work to a greater unity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/anc-orient-ch-docs/rc_pc_christuni_doc_19730510_copti_en.html |title=Common Declaration of Pope Paul VI and of the Pope of Alexandria Shenouda III leader of the Oriental Orthodox Church |last1=Paul VI |last2=Shenouda III |date=10 May 1973 |website=Vatican.va |access-date=19 September 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050418033834/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/anc-orient-ch-docs/rc_pc_christuni_doc_19730510_copti_en.html |archive-date=18 April 2005 }}</ref>