r Saint received the Brief at Paris and he set out at
once for Florence where the Pope happened to be residing. Having
reached the vicinity of the town he took up his abode in a small
convent of the Order. Thither came the Pope's envoys with the
Cardinal's insignia. As has already been said they found the Bishop
and Cardinal-elect washing the plates of the monastery, and tradition
has it that he ordered them to hang the hat on a branch of a tree
close by until he had finished.

After a brief stay at Florence, at the Pope's command our Saint set
out for Lyons, where the General Council was to be held. The assembly
began its sessions in May, 1274. The importance of the part which
Bonaventure played in this Council is admitted by all. His secretary
and biographer, Bernard of Besse, says: "By command of our Lord the
Pope he conducted the principal affairs of the Council". Pope Sixtus
IV. affirms that Bonaventure "presided at the Council of Lyons and
directed everything to the praise and glory of God; so that having
suppressed discords and overcome difficulties, he was a source of
honour and utility to the Church". It is, however, hardly credible
that Bonaventure really _presided_ over the Council, for {100} the
Pope himself was present. Most likely he presided over the private
sessions and prepared and directed the business to be publicly
transacted.

The union of the Greek Church with the Latin, the deliverance of the
Holy Land from Mohammedan rule, and the restoration of ecclesiastical
discipline were the chief matters discussed by the Council.

In the work of reuniting the Greek and Latin Churches the Friars Minor
played a very conspicuous part. Through them the negotiations with the
Emperor Paleologus, and the Greek Church had been carried on. Their
efforts seemed for a time to be crowned with complete success. The
Emperor sent civil and ecclesiastical representatives to the Council
of Lyons to express the adherence of himself and the entire Greek
Church to all the tenets of the Church of Rome. In presence of the
assembled Council and amid great solemnity the envoys made a public
profession of Faith, and the great Eastern schism seemed to be healed.
Unfortunately the result was of very brief duration. In the course of
a few years the Greeks had once more returned to their old condition
of schism and heresy. Still, even for this temporary success great
credit is due to Bonaventure, for to his personal influence it mus