November 30th marked a day of major historical significance. That Sunday, Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church, met with Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Pope’s Orthodox Christian counterpart. Both signed a declaration of unity between the two churches. Together, at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul, they celebrated a divine liturgy. This affair demonstrated how both churches are striving to unite amid their shared differences.

This display of unity sought to patch the lingering effects of The Great Schism, which took place in 1056. The Schism divided the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches and effectively split Christianity into two disciplines. This sowed many centuries of malice between the two churches, wherein each respective spiritual leader would frequently excommunicate the other. This dissent grew to its apex during The Fourth Crusade. On April 12, 1204, Roman Catholics raided Constantinople after their failed pursuit to reclaim Jerusalem.

Each church’s goal is not to submit to the other, according to Pope Francis. Instead, they will work “towards the restoration of full communion.” The Pope does not wish to impose any conditions of unity on the followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church–his only intent is a “shared profession of faith.”