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In 1354. the Ottoman Turks gained a foothold in Europe, at Gallopoli, threatening Constantinople from a new side. Threatened anew, John V appealed to the West for help in defending Constantinople against the Turks, proposing, in return, to end the [[schism]] between Constantinople and Rome. Opposed to re-union on political terms, Patr. Philotheus was against the efforts by John V to negotiate with Popes Urban V and Gregory XI.
Patr. Philotheus pursued an ecclesiastical policy to consolidate under the [[jurisdiction]] of the Constantinople patriarchate the Orthodox churches of the Serbians, Russians, and Bulgarians and to assert a primacy over the entire Eastern Church. He actively intervened in the affairs of Russia such that all the ecclesiastical administrative functions were consolidated under the Metropolitan of Kiev,[[Cyprian of Moscow|Cyprian]], who resided in Moscow.
Patr. Philotheus was an advocate of Hesychasm, and aided the cause of the Hesychasts in 1368 by supporting the [[Glorification|canonization]] of Gregory Palamas at a local [[synod]].
