Paul, Latin Patriarch of Constantinople

[2] In 1355, following the Ottoman capture of Gallipoli in the previous year, Paul entered into negotiations with the Byzantine emperor, John V Palaiologos, for a rapprochement between Byzantium and the Catholic Church, in exchange for Western military aid.

Pope Innocent VI answered to the emperor's offers with generalities, and avoided to commit himself to the dispatch of military aid, but sent Peter Thomas and William Conti as papal envoys to Constantinople.

The differing priorities and conceptions of the Byzantines and Latins contributed to the petering out and eventual failure of the negotiations: a 1357 letter by John V remained unanswered by Innocent VI until his death in 1362.

[1] In 1366–67, Paul played an active part in the Savoyard crusade of Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy, due to his first-hand knowledge of Byzantine internal affairs and politics.

In the disputation, Kantakouzenos managed to convince Paul that in order to resolve the doctrinal differences between East and West, an ecumenical council should be held at Constantinople in the next two years.