He was
ordained a
priest. John came under the patronage of John Kantakouzenos, the chief minister of Emperor
Andronikos III Palaiologos and later
megas domestikos, who introduced him to the imperial court. In 1334, against the resistance of the patriarchal
synod, John Kantakouzenos led John Kalekas to his election, first, as
Metropolis of Thessaloniki and, then, as patriarch of Constantinople, where he succeeded patriarch
Isaias of Constantinople. About the year 1337, during the patriarchate of John XIV, a Calabrian
monk,
Barlaam of Seminara, who was the
abbot of the
Monastery of the Saint Savior in Chora, learned of the practice of
hesychasm during a visit to
Mount Athos. Barlaam, trained in western
scholastic theology, was scandalised and began to campaign against the practice and its advocate Gregory Palamas. The dispute grew until 1341, when emperor Andronikos III, a supporter of Gregory Palamas, convened the
Fifth Council of Constantinople (1341–1368). Although he was supportive of Barlaam, John XIV did not resist his condemnation; after his condemnation Barlaam left Constantinople permanently. Thereafter, Barlaam's cause was taken up by
Gregory Akindynos. In 1344, in a synod convened by John Kantakouzenos, where the patriarch John XIV was absent, Gregory Akindynos was also condemned. In 1345, having finally committed to the Barlaam party, Patriarch John XIV convened a synod that
excommunicated Gregory Palamas from the Church and had him imprisoned for three years, until after John XIV's death in 1347. During the same synod, John XIV also had Bishop Isidore of Monembasia, a disciple of Gregory, excommunicated. After the death of emperor
Andronikos III Palaiologos in June 1341, two factions emerged at the imperial court concerned with the regency for the infant co-emperor
John V Palaiologos. Aided by the intrigues of
Alexios Apokaukos, the two sides engaged in a
Byzantine civil war that lasted until 1347. After some maneuvering one faction formed around John Kantakouzenos, who was a supporter of Gregory Palamas, and included the provincial magnates from
Macedonia and
Thrace. The other faction, which seized imperial power, was led by Patriarch John XIV and Alexios Apokaukos and supported Andronikos III's widow
Anna of Savoy in her efforts to assume the regency for the young John V Palaiologos. In forming the faction, Anna made Patriarch John XIV a regent and appointed Alexios Apokaukos an
eparchos (urban prefect). Initially, the regency held the upper hand, but by 1345 John Kantakouzenos, aided by help from
Orhan of the
Ottoman emirate and the murder of Alexios Apokaukos, dealt the regency a severe blow. In 1346, John VI Kantakouzenos was crowned co-emperor in
Adrianople and entered Constantinople in February 1347. Then, the regency war ended with the agreement that John Kantakouzenos would be the senior emperor and regent for John V Palaiologos until he was old enough to rule on his own.
Synod of 1347 A synod was held in February 1347 which deposed John XIV, exiling him to
Didymoteicho, and also excommunicated
Gregory Akindynos.
Isidore I of Constantinople, who had been excommunicated by the synod of 1344, was now made patriarch. Within days after the end of the conciliabulum,
John VI Kantakouzenos victoriously entered Constantinople and forced his opponents to crown him co-emperor. One of his first acts was to confirm the deposition of John XIV and to approve the synodal tome that had just been issued against him. The hesychasm dispute continued through a synod convened by Barlaam supporters that refused to accept Patriarch Isidore I before a final settlement of the dispute came about at a sixth synod in 1351 during the patriarchate of
Callistus I of Constantinople. == Final years ==