Retirement As A Monk
Kantakouzenos retired to a monastery (where he assumed the name of Joasaph Christodoulos) and occupied himself in literary labours.
He died in the Peloponnese and was buried by his sons at Mistra in Laconia.
In 1367 Joasaph (as he was now known) was appointed the representative of the Eastern Orthodox Church to negotiate with Paul of Smyrna then the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople to attempt a reconciliation of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. They agreed to call a grand ecumenical council to be attended by the Pope, all the Patriarchs and bishops and archbishops of both the eastern and western churches. This plan was subsequently refused by Pope Urban V and so nothing came of it.
Read more about this topic: John VI Kantakouzenos
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