| Greece, a pivotal country in the
development of western culture, received the Faith in the 1st
century, when the Church was planted there by St. Paul, on his second missionary
journey. At Athens he preached his famous sermon on the true God, in
response to a pagan altar to "an unknown god." The Greeks,
among whom the Faith spread quickly, came to favor the Eastern (Byzantine) rite, and went
with Orthodoxy in the schism of 1054. An unsuccessful attempt was made at the Council of
Florence to reunify eastern and western Christianity, and to save
Constantinople from the Ottoman Turks. The Greek Orthodox Church
continues to predominate, with Catholics making up only 6% of the
population. The Catholic Church is still trying to gain full legal
rights there. There is reason to hope that the Pope’s visit, even
though opposed by some fundamentalists, will help to stimulate dialogue
between Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy. |
