Philotheos Kokkinos

   Patriarch of Constantinople (qq.v.) from 1353-1354, and again from 1364-1376; writer; monk. He was a disciple and admirer of Gregory Palamas, also a friend of John VI Kantakouzenos (qq.v.). He was made patriarch when the previous patriarch Kallistos I refused to crown Matthew I Kantakouzenos (qq.v.). In a larger sense, his elevation as patriarch demonstrated the victory of Hesychasm (q.v.); indeed, he was one of a series of Hesychast patriarchs of the 14th century who included Isidore I Boucheiros and Kallistos I (qq.v.). Deposed when John V (q.v.) regained the throne in 1354, he engineered in his second term the canonization of Gregory Palamas (1368) and led opposition to John V's conversion to Roman Catholicism. He also made claims for his authority over the entire church that proved quite unrealistic in the face of growing ecclesiastical regionalism. His numerous writings include hagiography, hymns (qq.v.), polemics, and dogmatic works.