 To insure himself against a Latin attack, Michael began negotiations with Pope Innocent III, hinting at a possible union of the Orthodox Church of his domains with the Roman Catholic Church.The relationship was not untroubled–in a letter of 17 August 1209, the Pope asked of "Michael Komnenos of Romania" that, if he were truly the Pope's servant, as he claimed in his letters, he should allow the Latin Archbishop of Dyrrhachium access to the estates owned by the archbishopric in Michael's domains—but it did serve for the moment to earn Michael the Pope's goodwill, as well as precious time.According to Loenertz, it also appears that at some point Michael had paid homage to the Kingdom of Thessalonica as its vassal.