events
Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.
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Head of the Catholic Church from 2013 to 2025
Pope Francis was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until his death in 2025. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin American, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow
21st-century primate of the Russian Orthodox Church
Kirill or Cyril is a Russian Orthodox bishop. He became Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church on 1 February 2009.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill
2016 statement by the Catholic and Russian Orthodox leaders
The Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, also known as the Havana Declaration, was issued following the first meeting in February 2016 between Pope Francis, who, as the Bishop of Rome, was the pontiff of the Catholic Church, and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow,…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Catholic Church
Christian church based in Rome
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Russian Orthodox Church
Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church
The Russian Orthodox Church, also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The primate of the ROC is the patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
East–West Schism
Break of communion between the Western and Eastern churches
The East–West Schism, also known as the Great Schism or the Schism of 1054, is the break of communion between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. A series of ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes between the Greek East and Latin West preceded the…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)