Philip Pullella and Karolina Tabaris

ATHENS, (Reuters) -An old priest from the Greek Orthodox Church shouted, “Pope! You are a heretic!” as Pope Francis entered the Orthodox Archbishopric of Athens. Police took him away, a sign of distrust that still exists between these two churches.

The man was seen in video shouting out the Greek words outside of the building. He had on black robes, a black hat, and a long, white beard.

Witnesses claimed that he shouted loudly enough to make the pope hear it. Police lifted the man up after he fell while being removed.

Francis arrived Saturday in Greece for a three day visit. The Greek Catholics believe that this will help bring closer the Eastern and Western Catholic churches.

In 1054, Christianity was split in two. This is known as the Great Schism. For centuries, relations between the churches were difficult.

Francis appealed to BeatitudeIeronymos, the archbishop of Rome, for forgiveness.

“Tragically we became apart in later years. We grew apart from each other because of our worldly concerns,” Francis shared with Ieronymos. They met on his first trip to Greece in 2016.

Francis declared, “I feel the need again to ask for God’s forgiveness and for our brothers-and-sisters for the many Catholics’ mistakes.”

When Pope John Paul II visited Greece in 2001, he first asked for forgiveness for Catholic involvement in the split-up.

While Catholics and Orthodox are involved in dialogue for many decades aiming at eventual reconciliation, they still remain far apart theologically.

Ieronymos said to Francis, “We believe that you have the courage as well as the sincerity necessary to look at the mistakes and omissions made by your fathers.” “Between all those who desire to be called Christian brother, honesty is and will forever be the best language.”