In 2007 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople gave his approval to the Declaration of Ravenna, a Catholic–Orthodox document concerning the Protos, although future discussions are to be held on the concrete ecclesiological exercise of papal primacy.

[3] On 2016, Pope Francis made a well-publicized visit to the Greek island of Lesvos to meet migrants and refugees.

Lesvos was the home for many migrants and refugees who have fled war and violence in the Middle East and North Africa.

[4] In December 2021, during a two-day visit to Greece, Pope Francis returned to Lesvos and in an address to asylum seekers on the island, he castigated European countries for allowing the Mediterranean to become a “desolate sea of death”.

[5] In May 2023, Pope Francis returned 3 fragments of the Parthenon to Greece, a decision described as 'heroic' by the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni.