December 7, 1965 - The Great Schism Ends

The Great Schism took place in 1095 and was the cause of division between the church in Rome (now the Roman Catholic Church) and the church in Constantinople (now the Eastern/Greek Orthodox Church). The schism erupted as the Bishops of the Church of Rome and Constantinople excommunicated each other for issues like the ability for priests to marry or the appropriateness of priests growing beards. On December 7, 1965, after 911 years of disagreement, Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I decided it was time to end the schism. Each lifted the communications of the other and began to work towards a harmonious relationship.