Background
Theoleptos was born in Nicaea ca.
Byzantine monk Metropolitan of Philadelphia
Theoleptos was born in Nicaea ca.
He spent time in the monastic community of Mount Athos, where he became impregnated with the mystical traditions of Orthodox monasticism, so that the 14th-century bishop and theologian Gregory Palamas regarded him as a forerunner of his own mystical doctrine of Hesychasm. After the death of Michael VIII, however, his successor Andronikos II Palaiologos (r 1282–1328) reversed course. Theoleptos was released and became metropolitan bishop of Philadelphia (present-day Alaşehir in Turkey) in 1283 or 1284.
Theoleptos remained in his see for forty years until his death, and played a decisive role in the affairs of the city during this period, most notably leading the city"s successful defence against a Turkish attack in 1310.
Theoleptos opposed the reconciliation of the official Church with the Arsenite faction in 1310, resulting in a schism between himself and the Patriarchate of Constantinople that lasted until ca. lieutenant is through his correspondence with her that his theological views are best known.
Some of Theoleptos" writings are found in the Philokalia, but most of his writings remain unpublished.