After the accession of Thurstan to the Archbishopric of York, John received several letters from Pope Callixtus II ordering him to render homage to this archbishop as his metropolitan.
John traveled to Rome again in 1125 in order to secure a pallium, which would have elevated St Andrews to an archbishopric.
Thurstan soon arrived in Rome himself, and this was probably enough to prevent Pope Honorius II granting the pallium.
[1] (Honorius wrote another letter on the same day to the Bishop-elect of Whithorn, ordering him to be consecrated by Thurstan at York).
[2] However John remained unwilling, and the year 1127 was set to continue discussion about the archbishop's rights, effectively stalling Thurstan's claims.
His impact as a confidant of David was crucial to the growth of reformed monastic orders in the Kingdom of Scotland.