at Florence never came into effect. After the Fall of Constantinople two decades later, reunification became impossible as the Ottomans encouraged anti-unionists, aiming to keep Christianity divided. Venetian Crete in the first half of the 15th century After the short-lived Commune of Crete which resulted from the failed revolt of Saint Titus in 1363 and the suppression of the subsequent Callergis rebellion in 1368, Crete enjoyed a fairly long period of peace. Although Venice allowed Orthodox Cretans to freely practice their faith according to the Byzantine Rite, she refused to accept the dependence of the Cretan Orthodox clergy to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This was because Venice perceived the Orthodox faith of Cretans as an obstacle to her rule, hence wished to prevent any political intervention by the Byzantine ecclesiastical hierarchy. Instead, Latin bishops and the protopapades, officials loyal to the state were appointed to administer religious affairs in Crete. Absence of higher Orthodox clergy in Crete meant that Orthodox who wished to be ordained had to leave the island for Peloponnese or the Ionian Islands. To boost morale and strengthen faith, Orthodox bishops and exarchs arrived in Crete during the second half of the fourteenth and the first decades of the fifteenth century. These included figures such as the Archbishop of Athens Anthimos the Confessor and the monk Joseph Bryennios, who joined forces with local anti-unionist theologians such as and . On the other hand, Pope Eugene IV sent to Crete archbishop Fantino Valaresso as his plenipotentiary, tasked with introducing the reforms needed to implement the union of the churches. Ecumenical Patriarchs such as Metrophanes II and his successor Gregory III encouraged the union and did not object to the Western involvement in Cretan ecclesiastical affairs, having accepted it as the price for the desperately needed help in confronting the Ottomans. In this setting, and from 1439 onwards, the religious policy of the Venetians aligned with that of the Holy See and sought to impose on Crete the terms of the Council of Ferrara-Florence. However, this was not welcome by the Cretans and increased the resentment of Venetian administration among them. Vlastos conspiracy In the summer of 1454, soon after the fall of Constantinople on 29 May 1453, Venetian authorities were informed that a rebellion against the Republic was being prepared. Their informants were Ioannis Lima, a Cretan priest, and the Venetian Andrea Nigro, who pointed out Sifis Vlastos