He was well known for having built churches, hospices, and homes for wanderers. He generously distributed alms, was the guardian of orphans, widows and the sick, and personally attended those afflicted with leprosy, not hesitating to wash their wounds. During the iconoclast reign of Leo the Armenian (813-820 AD), Theophylaktos argued vigrously for the use of art in the Church, but was sent into exile for his disagreement with the emperor.