Manuel Kalekas (died 1410) was a monk and theologian of the Byzantine Empire. Kalekas was a disciple of

Demetrios Kydones Demetrios Kydones, latinized as Demetrius Cydones or Demetrius Cydonius (; 1324, Thessalonica – 1398, Crete), was a Byzantine Catholic theologian, translator, author and statesman. He served an unprecedented three terms as '' Mesazon'' (Im ...

. He lived in Italy, Crete and Lesbos where he translated the works of

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known simply as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480–524 AD), was a Roman Roman Senate, senator, Roman consul, consul, ''magister officiorum'', polymath, historian, and philosopher of the Early Middl ...

and

Anselm of Canterbury Anselm of Canterbury OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also known as (, ) after his birthplace and () after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Canterb ...

into Greek, and several Latin liturgical Texts such as the Missa Ambrosiana in Nativitate Domini. Kalekas translated the ''

Comma Johanneum The Johannine Comma () is an interpolated phrase (comma) in verses of the First Epistle of John. The text (with the comma in italics and enclosed by brackets) in the King James Version of the Bible reads: In the Greek Textus Receptus (TR), th ...

'' into Greek from the Vulgate. Kalekas was a unionist who sought to reconcile the Eastern and Western Churches. In 1390, he wrote a work castigating the Byzantines for their separation from the Western Church. When he was summoned to subscribe to the Tome of Palamas (the official statement of orthodoxy issued in 1351 at the Council of Blachernae), as a result of his anti-Palamite writings, he refused to do and was sanctioned. He fled to

Pera Pera may refer to: Places * Pera (Beyoğlu), a district in Istanbul formerly called Pera, now called Beyoğlu ** Galata, a neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, often referred to as Pera in the past * Pêra (Caparica), a Portuguese locality in the district o ...

, the Genoese quarter of Constantinople, in order to avoid prosecution. In 1396 he wrote a letter reproaching Manuel II, which the Emperor answered with bitterness. Kalekas returned to Constantinople in 1403 with the emperor

Manuel II Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 27 June 1350 – 21 July 1425) was Byzantine emperor from 1391 to 1425. Shortly before his death he was tonsured a monk and received the name Matthaios (). Manuel was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, which ...

, but to his surprise, was not given a warm reception by his old friends. As a result, he was forced to seek refuge with the

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

, where he died in 1410.

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See also