An elderly Greek Orthodox priest insulted Pope Francis as a heretic on Saturday as he arrived for a meeting with the head of the country's Orthodox Church, a sign of the persistent mistrust between some Orthodox and Catholics 1200 years after Christianity was split in two.
The priest shouted three times, "Pope, you are a heretic!" as Francis arrived at the residence of Archbishop Ieronymos in the Greek capital of Athens. The protester fell to the ground as police led him away, and Francis appeared not to notice him as he entered the residence for his private meeting with the Orthodox leader.
The incident follows small protests against the pope during his previous stop, the island of Cyprus, which is also predominantly Orthodox Christian.
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But inside Ieronymos's residence, the two Christian leaders could not have been more friendly with one another and aligned in their joint call for Christians to work together to protect the environment and care for migrants. Unlike the solitary heckling priest, Ieronymos welcomed Francis "with a sense of honor and fraternity."
Francis's state visit to Greece comes 20 years after St. John Paul II made the first such visit to Greece since the Great Schism, and took the opportunity to apologize for the sins "by action or omission" committed by Catholics against Orthodox over the centuries. Francis renewed these apologies on Saturday before Ieronymos and other Orthodox prelates.
Ieronymos told Francis on Saturday that he shared the pope's vision of forging strong bonds to face global challenges such as the migration crisis and climate change.
"If the international community, the leaders of powerful states, and international organizations do not make bold decisions, the ever-threatening presence of vulnerable refugee women and children will continue to grow globally," warned Ieronymos. "Together, we must shake the rocks and walls against the intransigence of the powerful of the Earth."