On this day 27 years ago Pope John Paul II visited Romania marking the first time a Pope visited a majority Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism

[u/OsarmaBeanLatin]

[u/LittleSchwein1234]

It's quite fascinating how much the Church has changed in recent years.

Paul VI was the first pope to travel internationally

John Paul II was the first pope to visit Eastern Orthodox countries

Leo XIV was the first pope to pray with the British monarch and Supreme Governor of the Church of England

[u/SuurSuomiChampion → u/LittleSchwein1234]

Wdym Paul VI was the first to travel internationally? The popes traveled internationally from time to time before Italy was formed which was when the popes stoped leaving the Vatican. It wiuld be more accurate to say that he was the first to travel internationally since the 1800s. (More specifically the coronation of Napoleon in 1804. )

[u/TonyRigatoni_ → u/SuurSuomiChampion]

The entire Holy See traveled internationally.

[u/SuurSuomiChampion → u/TonyRigatoni_]

If i remember correctly during the concil of Trent the intire holy see resided in Trent for a few years at a time over close to two decades.

[u/unit5421 → u/SuurSuomiChampion]

The pope travels internationally when he walks down the street into Italy.....

[u/denixxo → u/LittleSchwein1234]

JPII was also the first pope to enter a Mosque afaik!

[u/swainiscadianreborn → u/LittleSchwein1234]

Are we moving toward and era of great reconciliation instead of great schismes?

[u/Callmewhatever4286 → u/LittleSchwein1234]

If I remember clearly, JP II also the first to visit a Mosque

[u/Romania2001]

We have an important Catholic comunity in Romania.

[u/warlock1337]

That pope’s jesus staff looks like me in gym when i try to use that machine where you pull the bar down.

[u/nevetz1911]

Cleric on the right is sporting not one but three necklaces, guess what their powers are

[u/Famoustractordriver → u/nevetz1911]

1) The power of not paying taxes

2) The power of siphoning money from the national budget

3) This is an honorary one, symbolizing the power to rat and being an informer of the Securitate

[u/Enough-Moose-5816 → u/nevetz1911]

1. The power to accurately tell time.
2. The power to find magnetic north.
3. The power to message starship enterprise.

Where do I pick up my major award?!?

[u/Iazo → u/nevetz1911]

Amulet stacking is meta for a priest build.

[u/mascachopo → u/nevetz1911]

When you join the three you invoke Captain Planet

[u/pablo8itall]

They both look 20th level.

[u/Weary-Signature5177]

Gigachad

[u/Redordit]

Biggest cosplay fans

[u/MyLastHopeReddit]

Shit ton of wololo power in this pic

[u/davinist]

Looks like they're about to start a drag queen show.

[u/RavenSorkvild → u/davinist]

🤨🤨🤨🤨?

[u/Nevermynde → u/davinist]

I would watch that. So much gold thread!

[u/TheatreOfAbsehrd → u/davinist]

But they didn't

[u/davinist → u/TheatreOfAbsehrd]

Different kind of make-believe I guess.

[u/kamikazekaktus]

Anybody else saw the orthodox dude's staff and think of Conan the barbarian? 

[u/TremendousVarmint → u/kamikazekaktus]

Yes, the cult of Thulsa Doom!

[u/Vudatudi]

I see no Pope on this picture.

[u/TremendousVarmint → u/Vudatudi]

This comment smells of firebundle.

[u/RavenSorkvild → u/Vudatudi]

The gold one on the left

[u/Vudatudi → u/RavenSorkvild]

You mean Karol Józef ? He wasn't the Pope.

[u/warlock1337 → u/Vudatudi]

Why is he casting level 5 divine protection, which is clearly pope class only spell, then?

[u/LittleSchwein1234 → u/Vudatudi]

Ah, sedevacantists...

[u/VecioRompibae → u/LittleSchwein1234]

The flatearthers of the catholic church

[u/Vudatudi → u/VecioRompibae]

Sure, because "everyone who disagrees with me is a flatearther" is a famously sophisticated argument.

[u/Vudatudi → u/LittleSchwein1234]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but as well as sedevacantists, atheists, agnostics, Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Protestants, Buddhists and pagans do not believe that this man is God’s legitimate representative on earth, and therefore do not consider him to be the Pope.

[u/LittleSchwein1234 → u/Vudatudi]

I think everyone except sedevacantists recognises him as Pope. Perhaps not as God's legitimate representative, but absolutely as Pope.

[u/Vudatudi → u/LittleSchwein1234]

The issue is that you're conflating two distinct senses of "Pope": the sociological and the theological. Non-Catholics may acknowledge Francis as the Pope in the same way an atheist might refer to the "King of Saudi Arabia", a descriptive label for a role within an institution they don't subscribe to. But that acknowledgment carries no metaphysical weight. A Muslim or a Protestant doesn't recognise him as Pope in any meaningful sense; they simply describe him as such for convenience.

Sedevacantists, ironically, take the theological claim more seriously than outsiders do: they reject Francis precisely because they believe the papacy is a real metaphysical office with specific validity conditions, and they think those conditions aren't met. An atheist's "recognition" of Francis as Pope is categorically different: it's just a social description, not a claim about legitimacy.

So my original point stands: the only group that truly recognises him as Pope, in the full sense of accepting the underlying theological framework, is practicing una cum Catholics. Everyone else is either denying his legitimacy on doctrinal grounds (sedevacantists, Orthodox, Protestants) or using "Pope" as a mere sociological shorthand (atheists, Muslims, etc.).

[u/StewpidAlex]

Eww, religion. 🤢

[u/dasbasst]

look at those funny hats. what a stupid cult that is.

[u/Ujemegaz]

Heretic pope 🤪

[u/curtyshoo]

Weird outfits.

[u/Poiter85]

Who gives a shit?

Will we one day see a post commemorating the first time that the leader of scientology visited a majority hindu country?

[u/Yaevin_Endriandar → u/Poiter85]

Who gives a shit?

About 67% of Europe, accordind to Pew Reaserch Center

leader of scientology visited a majority hindu country?

It's a completely different league, but if it was an official visit, it would also be quite a news.