Bessarion was born in 1490 in northwestern Thessaly. His family was affluent and Bessarion was able to receive the basic education of his time. He devoted his life and energy to the church from a very young age, slowly rising in the ranks of the Greek Orthodox clergy. His patrons entrusted him with influential positions but he was also warmly received by the people, who saw in him a man of extraordinary abilities. He was able to improve the living conditions of his flock by reorganising the church after the upheavals of the Ottoman conquest, building roads and new churches, as well as buying the freedom of many Christians who had been sold as slaves.