JOHN
476
JOHN
According to Salimbene (op. cit., XXXII, 299 sqq.),
John went to Paris (probably in 1253), and by his mild
yet strenuous arguments strove to secure peace. It
may have been in conne.xion with this attack on the
Preachers and the Minors that John of Parma and
Humbert of Romans, Master General of the Domin-
icans, published at Milan in 1255 a letter recommend-
ing peace and harmony between the two orders (text
in Wadding, III, 380). The "Introductorius in Evan-
geUum Sternum " of Gerard of S. Donnino (12.54),
John's friend, having been denounced by the profes-
sors of Paris and condemnetl by a commission at An-
agni in 1256 (Denifle, "Arch. f. Litt.", I, 49 sqq.),
John himself was in some way compromised — a cir-
cumstance which, combined with others, finally
brought about the end of his generalate. He con-
voked a general chapter at Rome, 2 Feb., 1257. If
Peregrinus of Bologna [Bulletino critico di co.se fran-
cescane, I (1905), 4(i] be right, Alexander IV secretly
intimated to Jolm that he should resign, and decline
re-election should it be offered him. On the contrary,
Salimbene (1. c, .301 sqq.) insists that John resigned of
his own free will. The pope may have exerted some
pressure on John, who was only too glad to resign, see-
ing himself unable to promote henceforth the good of
the order. Questioned as to the choice of a successor,
he proposed St. Bonaventure, who had succeeded
him as professor at Paris. John retired to the Hermit-
age of Greccio near Rieti, memorable for the Christmas
celebrated there by St. Francis. There he lived in
voluntary exile and complete solitude; his cell near a
rock is still shown. But another hard trial awaited
him. Accused of Joachimism, he was submitted to a
canonical process at Citta della Pieve (Umbria), pre-
sided over by St. Bonaventure and Cardinal John
Gaetano Orsini, protector of the order. The mention
of this cardinal as protector brings us to a chrono-
logical difficulty, overlooked by all modern writers,
who assign the process against John to 1257; for Alex-
ander IV (12.')4-61) retained the protectorship (Anal.
Franc, 696, 710; Mon. Germ. Hist.: Scr., XXXIII,
663, 6S1-2); and Cardinal Orsini became protector,
at the earliest, at the end of 1261; see OUger in
"Arch. Francisc. Hist.", Ill, 346.
Angelus Clarenus tells us that the concealed motive of this process was John's attachment to the literal observance of the rule, the accusation of Joachimism, against which he professed his Catholic Faith, being only a pretext. Other sources, however (Anal. Franc, III, 350, 698), speak of retractation. The same Clarenus relates that John would have been con- demned had it not been for the powerful intervention of Innocent IV's nephew, Cardinal Ottoboni Ficschi, later Hadrian V (concerning who.se letter to the judges see Arch. f. Litt., II, 286; Orbis Seraphicus, I, 120). John certainly did not profess the dogmatical errors of Joachimism, though he may have held some of its apocalyptic ideas. Upon his acquittal he returned to Greccio, and continued his life of prayer and work. It was there that an angel once served his Mass (Sal- imbene, I.e., 310; Anal. Franc, III, 289), and that in 1285 he received the visit of Ubertin of Casale, who has left a touching account of this meeting ("Arbor Vita;", Venice, 1485, V, 3). Hearing that the Greeks were abandoning the union agreed upon in 1274, John, now 80 years old, desired to use his last energies in the cause of union. He obtained permission of Nicolas IV to go to Greece, but only travelled as far as Cam- erino (Marches of Ancona), where he died in the con- vent of the friars, 19 March, 1289. He was beatified 1777; his feast is kept 20 March.
With the exception of his letters scarcely any liter- ary work can with surety be attributed to John. He is certainly not the author of the "Introductorius in Evang. Sternum", nor of the " Visio Fr. Johannis de Parma " (Anal. Franc, III, 646-49). With more prob- ability can we attribute to John the "Dialogus de vitis
ss. Fratrum Minorum ", partly edited by L. Lemmeng,
O.F.M. (Rome, 1902). The "Chronicle of the XXIV
Generals " (Anal. Franc, III, 283) ascribes to John the
allegoric treatise on poverty: "Sacrum Commercium
B. Francisci cum Domina Paupertate " (ed. Milan,
1539), edited by Ed. d'Alen^on (Parisand Rome, 1900),
who ascribes it (without sufficient reason) to John
Parent. Carmichael has tran.slated this edition: "The
Lady Poverty, a thirteenth-century allegory " (Lon-
don, 1901) ; another English translation is by Rawnsley
(London, 1904) ; a good introduction and abridged
version is given by Macdonell, "Sons of Francis",
189-213. Other works are mentioned by Sbaralea,
"Suppl. ad Script." (Rome, 1806), 398.
I. Original Sources. — Salimbene, Chronica (Parma, 1857), ed. also by Holder-Eggeh in Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script., XXXII (Hanover, 1905-8); Anoelds Clarenus, Historia septem irihulationum, partly edited by Ehrle in Arch, fur Lid. u. Kirchengesch., II (Berlin, 1886), 249 sqq., and by Dollinger, Beitriige zur Sektengesch., II (Munich, 1890), 417 sqq.; Anal. Francisc.,1 (Quaracclii, 1885), 217 sqq.; Ill (Quaracchi, 1897); Archivum Franciscanum Historicum. II (Quaracchi, 1909), 433- 39; Bidl. Franc., I (.Rome, 1759); II (Rome, 1761); Suppl. ad Bull. Franc, of Annibali a Latera (Rome, 1780) ; Bull. Franc. Epitome tjy Eubel (Quaracchi, 1908). Collection of good texts, especially referring to missions in the East: Golubovich, Biblio- teca bio-bihliografica di Terra Sanla. I (Quaracchi, 1906), 219- 228; Wadding, Annates, III, IV (2nd ed., Rome, 1732).
II. Literature. — Macdonell, Sons of Francis (London, 1902), 214-51; Leon [de Clary], Lives of the Saints arid Blessed of the Three Orders of St. Francis. I (Taunton, 1885). 493-513. There are three Italian lives with the title Vita del Beato Gio- vanni da Parma, by Camerini (Ravenna, 1730), by Aff6 (Parma, 1777), and by LuiGl_ da Parma, 2nd ed. (Quaracchi, i900) — 1st ed. had appeared in the review Beato Giovanni da Parma, Periodico Bimensile (Parma, 1888-9); Jacobilli, Vite de' Sanli e Beali dell' Umbria. I (Foligno, 1647), 329-34- Arrd in Memorie degli Scrittori e Letterati Parmigiani, I (Parma, 1789), 129-45; Daunou in Histoire Littcraire de la France, XX (Paris, 1842), 23-36 (antiquated) ; Feret, La Faculte de Thcolo- gie de Paris, Moyen Age, II (Paris, 1895). 94-9; PiccoNi, Serie Cronologico-Biograflcadei Ministri eVicari Prov. della Minoritica Pronncia di Bo/offna (Parma, 1908), 43-44; Holzapfel, ilf anu- ale Historiae Ordinis Fratrum Minorum (Freiburg im Br., 1909), 25-30; German edition (Freiburg im Br., 1909), 28-33; Rene DE Nantes, Histoire des Spirituels (Paris, 1909), 145-205.
LiVAEius Oliger.
John of Ragusa (sometimes confounded with John of Segovia, q.v.), a Dominican theologian, president of the Council of Basle, legate to Constantinople, b. at Ragusa about 1380; d. at Argos, in the Peloponnesus, probably 1443. He entered the Dominican Order and devoted liimself to the observance of the rule of his order and the study of the sacred sciences. By reason of his great attainments in theology, Scripture, and the Oriental languages, he was considered an oracle in his native Dalmatia. At the Lfni versify of Paris he shone conspicuously and there received the doctor's cap about the beginning of the fifteenth century. In the year 1426 he was appointed procurator general of the Dominican Order, and went to reside at Rome under Pope Martin V. There he received marks of honour and esteem from the pope and the College of Cardinals, and the former eventually named him papal theologian for the General Council of Basle. John was, moreover, chosen to open the council, in place of Cardinal Julian Cesarini, who was detained by other business. Arriving at Basle on 19 May, 1431, he on the same day arranged with the Bishop of Basle for the opening of the council on the 23rd of the same month. The opening did not take place, however, until 23 July, 1431, in the cathedral church, when John preached from the text: "Et angelus testament!, quem vos vultis. Ecce venit" (Mai., iii, 1). In the council he exonerated the absent cardinals from the charge of contempt (Feb., 1433). On eight mornings he spoke against the doctrines of the Hussites and crushed all that was reprehensible in that heresy.
Having been sent as a legate of the council to Con- stantinople to urge the reunion of the Eastern and Western Churches, John of Ragusa induced the Em- peror John Paheologus and the Patriarch Joseph to send an embassy to the council, though the treaty
