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[[Image:AthenagorasIwPaulVI.jpg|thumb|Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I (left) with Pope Paul VI]] '''Patriarch Athenagoras I''' (born '''Aristokles Spyrou''') ([[March 25]], 1886 - [[July 6]]/[[July 7|7]], 1972) was the [[Church of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]] from 1948 to 1972.
His meeting with Pope Paul VI in 1964 led to rescinding the 1054 excommunications of the [[Great Schism]]. This was a significant step towards restoring full communion between Rome and Constantinople. It produced the [http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/speeches/1965/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19651207_common-declaration_en.html Catholic-Orthodox Joint declaration of 1965], which was read out 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 1054 schism, but showed a desire for greater reconciliation between the two churches, represented by Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I.
