John, Bishop of Syrmia

John was Provost of Arad from an unknown date until 1262.[1] He was already styled as Provost of Arad and Bishop-elect of Syrmia on 5 December 1262 (Hungarian: Szerém, Serbian: Srem),[2] when Duke Stephen took an oath at Poroszló and confirmed his reconciliation with his father, King Béla IV of Hungary after their brief civil war in accordance with the Peace of Pressburg, which was concluded in the autumn of 1262 with the mediation of archbishops Philip Türje of Esztergom and Smaragd of Kalocsa, in addition to the attendance of Philip, Bishop of Vác, Benedict, Provost of Szeben and John, Provost of Arad.[3]

Despite John's title of bishop-elect in the aforementioned document, Pope Urban IV still entitled his predecessor, Oliver in his letter dated 13 December 1262.[2] According to its narration, Oliver petitioned to the Roman Curia for his acquittal from the dignity due to his poor health. Consequently, John was elected bishop prior to the pope would have allowed Oliver to resign from his position. It is possible that, Oliver had died by that time, when Pope Urban sent his letter to his superior, Smaragd of Kalocsa, or John already acted as gubernator of the diocese, substituting Oliver, who suffered from a serious illness, and Duke Stephen's oath of letter anticipated John's title and dignity.[3] Beside that document, John only appears as Bishop of Syrmia in a royal charter issued by Béla IV in 1269.[3] He was succeeded by Pouka, who was first mentioned in this capacity in 1277.[2]