To deepen ties, Pope Francis will meet with Cyprus’ Orthodox leader.

On Friday, Pope Francis will meet with the head of Cyprus’ Greek Orthodox Church in the hopes of repairing an ideological and political schism that has existed for over a millennium between the Catholic West and the Orthodox East.

On the second day of the pope’s three-day visit to Cyprus, Francis and Archbishop Chrysostomos II meet. The two will become members of the Holy Synod, the Greek Orthodox Church’s top decision-making body. Later in the day, Francis will preside over an ecumenical prayer session with migrants.

Despite the fact that Cyprus only has about 800,000 Orthodox Christians, Cypriot church authorities allude to the Mediterranean island’s role as the “gateway” to Christianity’s westward spread due to its proximity to the faith’s birthplace.

When the Apostle Paul convinced the island’s Roman ruler, Sergius Paulus, while on the first stop of his first voyage to promote the faith, Christianity first reached Cyprus in 45 A.D. Another apostle, Barnabas, is claimed to have established the Cypriot Church.

The connection of Cyprus to the Christian roots has been a key aspect of Francis’ visit. Minority Christian groups in neighboring countries fear that their faith may be attacked as a result of violent conflicts, thus Cypriot Church authorities want to improve links with the Holy See.

The island of Cyprus bears the wounds of conflict. In 1974, Turkey invaded following a coup intended at unifying the island with Greece, dividing the country along ethnic lines. 170,000 Christians fled the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north after the ethnic split, where churches, monasteries, and other Christian sites were destroyed.

Following the end of hostilities, tens of thousands of Muslim Turkish Cypriots went north.

The demolition of Christian houses of worship is one of the primary topics Archbishop Chrysostomos is scheduled to bring up with Pope Francis in the hopes that the pontiff’s political clout can help rekindle stalled talks on Cyprus reunification.

When he arrived on Thursday, Francis urged Greek and Turkish Cypriots to begin discussions, saying that threats and displays of force only prolong the island’s people’s “awful laceration” that has lasted over half a century.

At the presidential palace in the internally recognized, Greek Cypriot-led south, Francis addressed Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and other government leaders, “Let us cultivate hope through the power of gestures, rather than by the power of gestures.”

The chances of unifying the island have never been more low than they are right now. Turkish Cypriots have modified their conditions for peace under their newly elected leader Ersin Tatar, demanding recognition of a distinct state before any compromise can be discussed.

Both sides had previously agreed — with UN Security Council approval — that any deal would entail the formation of a two-zone federation, with a Turkish Cypriot zone in the north, a Greek Cypriot zone in the south, and a single federal government governing core ministries such as defense and foreign affairs.

Recognizing the impasse in talks and the continued suffering of Christians unable to return to their previous homes in the island’s predominantly Muslim north, Francis endorsed a reconciliation project spearheaded by the island’s Christian and Muslim faith leaders.

“Ones when conversation appears to be waning might be the very times that prepare for peace,” the pontiff added.