He sought ways of reconciliation between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Vatican by holding talks with the Pope.
(1886-1972) Istanbul Orthodox Patriarch. He worked for the unification of the churches and sought ways of reconciliation between Fener and the Vatican by arranging meetings with Pope Paul VI. He was born in Ioannina and died in Istanbul. After completing his primary education in the place where he was born, he went to Istanbul and finished Heybeliada Theological School. He conducted long-term studies on the History of Religions and the History of Churches. He became the metropolitan of Corfu for a while (1923), and went to America. He served as Greek Aksarcho of North and South America (1931). He was appointed to the Istanbul Greek Orthodox Patriarchate (1948).
Taking advantage of the international significance of his mission, Athenagoras became involved in politics under the guise of pacifism. He started to work intensively with the idea of establishing a universal church union, apart from the influence of Moscow and sought ways of reconciliation between the Vatican and the Fener Patriarchate. For this reason, he held two meetings with Pope Paul VI, one in Jerusalem (1964) and the other in Istanbul (1967). XI between the two churches. He provided the removal of the mutual ex-communication, which has been the source of the resentment that has been going on since the 19th century. In Rome (1967), where he went to attend the bishops' meeting, he called on all world rulers to ensure international peace.
Despite his peace-loving and humane appearance, Athenagoras did not remain silent about the Turkish massacre that Makarios and Grivas attempted together in the Cyprus events; Rather than seeing pacifism as a non-religious understanding of civilization, he continued his tendency to protect those of his own religion. For this reason, he became an “undesirable” person in Turkey, where he was assigned at a time of intense events. II. He continued the tradition of not opening the "Middle Gate", which has been an important problem since Patriarch Gregorius V, who was hanged due to the separatist activities of the state during the Mahmud period. Gregorius V was hanged in front of this door in 1821, and since then the patriarchs have kept the "Middle Door" closed.