Introduction

Sylvester Syropoulos was a member of the Byzantine delegation that travelled to Italy in 1437 for the council of the union of the Greek and Latin Churches. As a high-ranking official he was involved in the negotiations pertaining to the council among the Byzantine political and religious elites, and between the Byzantines and the Latins. Syropoulos agreed to the union of the Greek and Latin Churches while in Italy but renounced it when the Byzantine delegation returned to Constantinople and was faced with the opposition of the people and clergy. After his return to Constantinople, he wrote an account about the council and the political and religious events surrounding it.