Athenagoras I (Spyrou) of Constantinople

Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I (left) with Pope Paul VI

Patriarch Athenagoras I (born Aristokles Spyrou) (March 25, 1886 - July 6/7, 1972) was the 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 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.

Athenagoras I was born in 1886 in Vasilikón, near Ioánnina, Epirus, Greece, and died in Istanbul, Turkey in 1972.

Succession box: Athenagoras I (Spyrou) of Constantinople
Preceded by: Maximus V	Patriarch of Constantinople 1948-1972	Succeeded by: Demetrios I

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External Links

• Another Common Declaration of Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I dated 28 October 1967
• Remembering Patriarch Athenagoras