If his soldiers and the people of Constantinople were to depose an emperor named John and proclaim another of the same name, the entire affair could be conducted in bewilderment. By using the name Andronikos, any such issues would be avoided. During his actual reign as emperor, after successfully taking the throne, John VII does not appear to have used the second name, reigning under his birth name. In treaties he signed he is referred to as John, and contemporary Byzantine authors also consistently refer to him by his birth name, ignoring any second name for him. The few activities recorded to have been conducted during John VII's brief reign suggest that he believed that he was going to rule for a long time. In June, he signed a treaty with Venice and throughout his time as emperor he issued (imperial decisions/commands) and minted coins. John VII is also recorded to have supported the restoration of Macarius to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Macarius had been Patriarch of Constantinople during the reign of John VII's father, in 1376–1379. John VII's reign ended in the same year as it had begun, when Manuel returned from his campaign. With the support of the Knights Hospitaller and the Ottomans, Manuel deposed John VII, who had ruled just five months, on 17 September and restored the rule of John V. After helping Manuel retake the city for his father, sultan Bayezid I forced him to live at the Ottoman court, acting as a submissive vassal. Governor in Selymbria and pretensions John VII never gave up his claim to be emperor, and continued to be a powerful political player in the Byzantine Empire for years following his deposition. Sometime before 1397, possibly as early as 1390, John married Irene Gattilusio, daughter of Francesco II Gattilusio, the lord of the island of Lesbos. After John V returned to the throne, Bayezid summoned both junior co-emperors, Manuel and John VII, to join the sultan's campaigns in Anatolia. They were both forced to take part in the Ottoman subjection of Philadelphia, the last Christian city in western Anatolia. When John V died in 1391, Manuel, at Bayezid's court at the time, quickly made his way to Constantinople to pre-empt John VII claiming the throne. John VII continued to govern Selymbria following John V's death and continued to aspire to become senior emperor following Manuel II's rise to the throne.