ELIAS
383
ELIAS
capacity that he received Caesar of Speyer into the
order. Although we are ignorant of the nature or
extent of Elias's work in the East, it would seem that
the three years he spent there made a deep impression
upon liim. In 1220-21 Ehas returned to Italy with
St. Francis, who showed further confidence in him by
naming him to succeed Peter of Cataneo (d. 10 March,
1221) as vicar-general of the order. Elias had held
this office for five years when Francis died (3 Oct.,
1226), and he then became charged with the responsi-
bilities of the moment and the provisional government
of the Friars Minor. After announcing the death of
Francis and the fact of the Stigmata to the order in a
beautiful letter, and superintending the temporary
burial of the saint at San Giorgio, Elias at once began
to lay plans for the erection of a great basilica at ,4s-
sisi, to enshrine the remains of the Poverello. To this
end he obtained a donation, with the authority of the
pope, of the so-called C'oUis Inferni at the western
extremity of the town, and proceeded to collect money
in various ways to meet the expenses of the building,
Elias thus alienated the zealots in the order, who felt
entirely with St. Francis upon the question of poverty,
so that at the chapter held in May, 1227, Elias was re-
jected in spite of his prominence, and Giovanni Par-
enti, provincial of Spain, was elected second general
of the order.
Thenceforth Elias devoted all his energies to rais- ing the basilica in honour of St. Francis. The first stone was laid 17 July, 122S, the day following the saint's canonization, and the work advanced with such incredible speed that the lower church was finished within twenty-two months. It was consecrated 25 May, 1230, the hurried, secret, and still unexplained translation of St. Francis's body thither from San Giorgio planned by EUas having taken place a few days previously, before the general and other friars as- sembled for the purpose were present. Soon after this, though there is some difference of opinion as to the exact date, Elias attempted, as it seems by a kind of coup de tnain, to depose Parent! and seize the gov- ernment of the order by force, but the attempt failed. He thereupon retired to a distant hermitage, where we are told he allowed his beard and hair to grow, wore the vilest habit, and to all appearances led a most penitential life. However this may be, Elias was elected to succeed Parenti as general at the chap- ter in 1232, magis tumultuose quain canonice, as a con- temporary chronicler expresses it ; and he continued to govern the Friars Jlinor for nearly seven years. Dur- ing that period the order was passing through one of the crises of its earlier development. It is well known (see CoxvENTC.\Ls) that even during the lifetime of St. Francis a division had shown itself in the ranks of the friars, some being for relaxing the rigour of the rule, especially as regards the observance of pov- erty, and others for adhering to its literal strictness. The conduct of Elias after his election as general helped to widen this breach and fan the flames of dis- cord in the order. In arbitrary fashion he refused to convene a chapter or to visit any of the provinces, but sent in his place "visitors", who acted rather as tax collectors — for Elias's chief need was money to com- plete the church and convent of S. Francesco — thus not only violating the rule himself, but causing others to do so also. In many other respects Ehas abused his au- thority, receiving unworthy subjects into the order and confiding tlie most important offices to ignorant lay brothers, and when several of the early and most venerated companions of Francis withstood his high- handed methods, they were dealt with as mutineers, some being scourged, others exiled or imprisoned. Elias's manner of life made his despotism more intol- erable. It seems to have been that of a powerful baron rather than of a mendicant friar. We are told that he gathered about him a household of great splendour, including secular lackies, dressed in the
gayest Uveries, that he kept " a most excellent cook "
for his exclusive use, that he fared sumptuously, wore
splendid garments, and made his journeys to different
courts on fine palfreys with rich trappings. Because
of the.se excesses, which threatened the complete de-
struction of the rule, the opposition to Elias became
widespread. It was organized by Aymon of Faver-
sham, who, in conjunction with otlier provincials from
the Xorth, determined to have him removed, and ap-
pealed to Gregory IX. Elias excommunicated the
appellants and sought to prevent their reception by the
pope. But Gregory received them and, in spite of
Elias, summoned a chapter at Rome. Elias resisted
to the utmost and strove to browbeat his accusers, but
Gregory called on him to resign. He refused to do so,
and was thereupon deposed by the pope, the English
provincial, Albert of Pisa, being elected general in his
stead. This was in 1239.
After his deposition, Elias, who still kept the titles of Custos of the .A.ssisian Basilica and Master of the Works, seems to have busied himself anew for a time at the task of completing the church and convent of S. Francesco, but subsequently retired to Cortona. Refusing to obey either t he general or the pope. Elias now openly transferred his allegiance to Frederick II, and we read of him in 1240 with the em- peror's army, rid- ing on a magnificent charger at the siege of Faenza and at that of Ravenna. Some two years before this Elias had been sent by Gregory IX as an ambassador to Frederick. He now became the sup- porter of theexcom- municated emperor in his strife with Rome and was him self excommunicated by Gregory. It is said that Elias afterwards wrote a letter to the pope explaining his con- duct and asking pardon, and that this letter was found in the tunic of Albert of Pisa after the latter's death. AjTnon of Faversham, who had been the principal opponent of Elias, and who was elected general in suc- cession to Albert, having died in 1244, a chapter was thereupon convened at Genoa. Elias was summoned by Innocent IV to attend it, but he failed to appear. Some say that the papal mandate never reached him. Be this as it may, Elias was excommunicated anew and expelled from the order. The news of his disgrace spread quickly " to the great scandal of the Church", and the very children might be heard sing- ing in the streets:
" Hor attorna fratt' Helya Ke pres' ha la mala via", a couplet which met the friars at everj' turn, so that the very name of Elias became hateful to them. It was about this time that Elias was sent by Frederick II on an important diplomatic mission to Constanti- nople and Cyprus. When not employed by the em- peror, Elias resided at Cortona with a few friars who had remained faithful to him. He dwelt for a time in a private house there, still known as the caxn di frate Elia. but in January, 1245, the people of Cortona, for whom he had obtained sundry privileges in the past, presented him with a piece of ground called the Bagno della Regina, and helped him to erect there- on the splendid church and convent dedicated to St. Fr.ancis.
Soon after Blessed Giovanni da Parma became gen-
i picture preserved
