FRIARS
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FRIARS
entrusted to Thomas of Celano the task of writing the
biography of the saint, which lie confirmed on 25 Feb-
ruary, 1229. The translation of the saint's body from
the church of San Giorgio to the new basilica took
place on 22 May, 12)J0, three days before the apjiointed
time, and Elias of t'ortona, possibly fearing some dis-
turbance, took possession of the body, with the assist-
ance of the civic authorities, and buried it in the
church, where it was discovered in 1818. Elias was
censured and punished for this action in the Bull of 16
June, 1230. The usual general chapter was held about
the same date, and on 28 September, 1230, the Bull
"Quo elongati" was issued, dealing with the Testa-
ment of St. Francis and certain points in the Rule of
1223. Elias meanwhile devoted all his energy to the
completion of the magnificent church (or rather
double church) of S. Francesco, which stands on the
slope of a hill in the western portion of Assisi, and of
the adjacent monastery with its massive pillars and
arcades. His election as general in 1232 gave him
freer scope, and enabled him to realize the successful
issue of his plans. As a politician, Elias certainly
possessed genius. His character, however, was too
ostentatious and worldly, and, though under his rule
the order developed externally and its missions and
studies were promoted, still in consequence of his ab-
solutism, exercised now with haughty bearing and
again through reckless visitors, there arose in the order
an antagonism to his government, in which the Pa-
risian masters of theology and the German and English
provinces played the most prominent part. Unable
to stem this opposition, Elias was deposed, with
Gregory IX's approval, by the Chapter of Rome
(1239), and the hitherto undefined rights and almost
absolute authority of the general in matters of income
and legislation for the order were considerably re-
stricted. Elias threw in his lot with Frederick II
(Hohenstaufen), was excommunicated in consequence,
and died on 22 Apn\, 1253. Albert of Pisa, who had
previously been provincial of Germany and Hungary,
was chosen at the chapter of 1239 to succeed Elias, but
died shortly afterwards (23 January, 1240). On All
Saints' Day, 1240, the chapter again met and elected
Haymo of Faversham, a learned and zealous English
Franciscan, who had been sent by Ciregory IX (1234)
to Constantinople to promote the reunion of the
Schismatic Greeks with the Apostolic See. Haymo,
who, with Alexander of Hales had taken part in the
movement against Elias, was zealous in his visitation
of the various houses of the order. He held the Pro-
vincial Chapter of Saxonia at Aldenburg on 29 Sep-
tember, 1242, and, at the request of Gregory IX,
revised the rubrics to the Roman Breviary and the
Missal.
After Haymo's death in 1244 the General Chapter of Genoa elected Crescenzio Grizzi of Jesi (1245—47) to succeed him. Crescenzio instituted an investigation of the life and miracles of St. Francis and other Minor- ites, and authorized Thomas of Celano to write the "Legenda secunda S. Francisci", based on the infor- mation (Legenda trium Sociorum) supplied to the general by three companions of the saint {Tres Socii, i.e. Leo, Angelus,andRufinus). From this period also dates the " Dialogus de Vitis Sanctorum Fratrum Minorum ". This general also opposed vigorously the separationist and particularistic tendencies of some seventy-two of the brothers. The town of Assisi asked for him as its bishop, but the request was not granted by Innocent IV, who, on 29 April, 1252, ap- pointed him Bishop of Jesi, in the March of Ancona, his native town. John of Parma, who succeeded to the generalship (1247-57), belonged to the more rigor- ous party in the order. He was most diligent in VLsit- ing in person the various houses of the order. It was during this period that Thomas of Celano wrote his "Tractatus dc Miraculis". On 11 August, 1253, Clare of A.ssisi died, and was canonized by Alexander
IV on 20 September, 1255. On 25 May, 1253, a
month after the death of the excommunicated Elias,
Innocent coiisccrated the upper church of S. Francesco.
John of I'arnia unfortunately shared the apocalyptic
views and fancies of the Joachimites, or followers of
Joachim of I'^loris, who had many votaries in the
order, and was consequently not a little compromised
when Alexander IV (4 November^ 1255) solemnly
condemned the "Liber introductorius", a collection
of the writings of Joachim of Floris with an extrava-
gant introduction, which had been published at Paris.
This work has often been falsely ascribed to the gen-
eral himself. Its real author was Gerardo di Borgo
S.-Donnino, who thus furnished a very dangerous
weapon against the order to the professors of the .secu-
lar clergy, jealous of the success of the Minorites at the
University of Paris. The chapter convened in the
Ara Cocli monastery at Rome forced John of Parma to
abdicate his office (1257), and, on his recommendation,
chose as his successor St. Bonaventure from Bagnorea.
John was then summoned to answer for his Joachim-
ism before a court presided over by the new general
and the cardinal -protector, aiul would have been con-
demned but for the letter of ( 'anlinal Ottoboni, after-
wards Adrian V. He subsequently withdrew to the
hermitage of Greccio, left it (12S9) at the command of
the pope to proceed to Greece, but died an aged,
broken man at Camerino on 20 March, 1289.
St. Bonaventure (q. v.), a learned and zealous relig- ious, devoted all hLs energy to the government of the order. He strenuously advocated the manifold duties thrust upon the order during its historical develop- ment — the labour in the care of souls, learned pur- suits, employment of friars in the service of the popes and temporal rulers, the institution of large monas- teries, and the preservation of the privileges of the order — being convinced that such a direction of the activities of the members would prove most beneficial, to the Church and the cause of Christianity. The Spirituals accused Bonaventure of laxity; yet he laboured earnestly to secure the exact observance of the rule, and energetically denounced the abuses which had crept into the order, condemning them repeatedly in his encyclical letters. In accordance with the rule, he held a general chapter every three years: at Narbonne in 12G0, at Pisa in 1203, at Paris in 1266, at Assisi in 1269, and at Lyons in 1274, on the occasion of the general council. He made most of the visitations to the different convents in person, and was a zealous preacher. The Chapter of Narbonne (1260) promulgated the statutes of the order known as the " Constitutiones Narbonenses", the letter and spirit of which exercised a deep and enduring influence on the Franciscan Order. Although the entire code did not remain long in force, many of the provisions were retained and served as a model for the later constitutions.
Even before the death of Bonaventure, during one of the sessions of the council (15 July, 1274), the Chapter of Lyons had chosen as his successor Jerome of Ascoli, who was expected by the council with the ambassadors of the Greek Church. He arrived, and the reunion of the churches was effected. Jerome was sent back by Innocent V as nuncio to Constan- tinople in May, 1276, but had only reached Ancona when the pope died (21 July, 1276). John XXI (1276-77) employed Jerome (October, 1276) and John of Vercelli, General of the Dominicans, as media- tors in the war between Philip III of France and Alfon-so X of Castile. This embassy occupied both generals till March, 1279, although Jerome was pre- ferred to the cardinalate on 12 March, 1278. When Jeroine departed on the embassy to the Greeks, he had appointed Bonagratia of S. CJiovanni in Persiceto to represent him at the General Chapter of Padua in 1276. On 20 May, 1279, he convened the General Chapter of A.ssisi, at which Bonagratia was elected
