His hostility to the church, who by that time were seen as the "defenders of the traditional order" in the words of Michael Angold, was profound: the bishop of Nauplion was imprisoned, while the bishop of Corinth was invited to dinner, blinded and thrown to his death from the Acrocorinth.
O zamanlar Michael Angold kelimeleriyle "geleneksel nizamın savunucusu" görülen kiliseye düşmanlığı şiddetliydi: Nauplion piskoposu tutuklanırken Korint piskoposu akşam yemeğine davet edildi, kör edilip Acrocorinth'ten atılıp öldürüldü.