John VII the Oxite was the Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch at the time of the Siege of Antioch

Siege of Antioch

The Siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098. The first siege, by the crusaders against the Muslim city, lasted from October 21, 1097, to June 2, 1098. The second siege, against the crusaders who had occupied it, lasted from June 7 to June 28, 1098.-Background:Antioch...

 in 1097 in front of the besieging army of the First Crusade

First Crusade

The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...

. He was imprisoned by the Turkish governor, Yaghi-Siyan

Yaghi-Siyan

Yaghi-Siyan was the governor of Antioch during the First Crusade.He was a Turkic slave of the Seljuk sultan Malik Shah I, who had captured Antioch in 1085 and appointed Yaghi-Siyan governor around 1090. Malik Shah died in 1092, and his successor Tutush I granted Yaghi-Siyan more territory around...

, who suspected his loyalty. On occasion he was hung from the walls and his feet were hit by iron rods. He was released and re-established as Patriarch when the crusaders captured the city in 1098. The crusaders soon established a Latin Patriarch

Latin Patriarch of Antioch

The Latin Patriarch of Antioch was an office created in 1098 by Bohemund, founder of the Principality of Antioch, one of the crusader states....

 as well, Peter of Narbonne. Peter was consecrated by John, and the two patriarchs existed side by side for a short time, until John became politically inconvenient for the first Prince of Antioch

Principality of Antioch

The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:...

, Bohemund I

Bohemund I of Antioch

Bohemond I , Prince of Taranto and Prince of Antioch, was one of the leaders of the First Crusade. The Crusade had no outright military leader, but instead was ruled by a committee of nobles...

. Bohemund accused him of conspiring with the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

, an old enemy of Bohemund and his Norman

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 family, and John was exiled to Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 in 1100. The Eastern Orthodox Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

 was repressed in favour of the Latin Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, under Patriarch Bernard of Valence, who succeeded Peter of Narbonne. In Constantinople, John resigned and entered a monastery in Oxia, where he wrote anti-Latin treatises. A new Greek Patriarch was appointed in Constantinople until it was possible to restore them in Antioch later in the 12th century.