Pope John Paul, responding to a critical harangue by Greece's religious leader, asked God today to forgive Roman Catholics for 1,000 years of sins against Orthodox Christians.
The historic move by the 80-year-old Pontiff to end centuries of hostility came during a tense meeting in Athens in which Greek Archbishop Christodoulos had accused Catholics of multiple misdeeds and called on the Pope to apologise.
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Pope John Paul II
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"For occasions past and present, when the sons and daughters of the Catholic Church have sinned by actions and omission against their Orthodox brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant us the forgiveness we beg of him," the Pope said in an address to the archbishop.
Archbishop Christodoulos, who had only grudgingly gone along with the Pope's visit and refused joint prayers, burst into applause. The two men later embraced.
"I am very happy. The Pope was very nice to us, but of course there are still problems between our two churches that we have to face," Archbishop Christodoulos told reporters.
The two men later issued a joint declaration after making a pilgrimage to Arios Pagos hill, where St Paul made his famous sermon to the unknown god .
"We condemn all recourse to violence, proselytism and fanaticism in the name of religion," they said.
Many members of the Orthodox Church blame Roman Catholics for numerous ills stemming from the Great Schism of 1054 that divided Christianity into Eastern and Western branches.
Signs of Orthodox anger were palpable in Greece ahead of the visit, although government fears of large demonstrations against the archheretic, as some protesters dubbed the Pope, did not materialise on the day.