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John has been considered an example of religious tolerance during the divisive Christological disputes of Late Antiquity, but the evidence for this is mostly negative, as he is not presented in his Life as using violence to impose Chalcedonian Orthodoxy. The belief that he is venerated as a saint in the [[Church of Alexandria (Coptic)|Coptic]] and [[Church of Ethiopia|Ethiopian]] churches seems to be mistaken. It is clear from his Life that he was a firm supporter of Chalcedonian doctrine and that he used the theological ability of men such as Sophronius and John Moschus to defend and promote it. As a result of his efforts the number of Chalcedonian churches in the city increased ten-fold during his reign, according to his Life.

*A good recent summary can be found in the new Synaxarion written by Hieromonk Macarius of [[Simonopetra]], Christopher Hookway (trans.) ''The Synaxarion: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church: Volume 2: November, December'' (Ormylia Greece 1999) under the entry for November 12.*John's relations with non-Chalcedonians are treated briefly in John Meyendorff ''Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions: The Church 450-680 A.D.'' (Crestwood NY 1989). Meyendorff's statement that John is venerated as a saint by the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches seems to be a confusion with John IV, Coptic Pope of Alexandria of the late 7th century, also surnamed the "Merciful" but presented as a staunch opponent of Chalcedonian Christology (see the ''Coptic Encyclopedia'').*The most recent scholarly study of [[Leontius of Neapolis]], the author of the main Life of John, is Vincent Deroche, ''Études sur Léontios de Néapolis,'' (Uppsala 1995).