Because of the
Muslim conquest of Sicily, John was forced to abandon the town, which was conquered by the Saracens in 859 despite its strength as a military stronghold. The Arabs still managed to imprison Elias, who was taken to
Ifriqiya to be sold as a slave. After managing to regain his freedom, Elias decided to preach the Gospel, several times risking his own life, and arrived in
Palestine, where he received the monastic habit from the
Patriarch of Jerusalem. After three years in a monastery of
Sinai, Brother Elias undertook an adventurous series of travels, going first to
Alexandria in Egypt, and then
Persia,
Antioch and again to Africa. After 878
Syracuse also fell into Arab hands. Elias then returned to the island, where he met his elderly mother in
Palermo. At
Taormina he met Daniel, a new disciple of his. Going north, Elias lived in
Calabria, where in the year 884, in the Valley of Salt, and more precisely on Mount Aulinas (now Mount Saint Elias near
Palmi), he founded a monastery later named after him. Subsequent Arab invasions forced Elias to repair to
Patras in
Greece, and then to Santa Caterina in
Aspromonte. Elias then went on a pilgrimage to
Rome. The adventures, the wonders and the evangelization that Elias had undertaken on three continents extended his fame to
Constantinople, where the
Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise invited him to visit. Elias, however, now seventy, though he began the journey to Constantinople, fell ill and died at Thessaloniki. His most faithful friend and companion, the monk Daniel, buried him in the monastery of Monte Aulinas, at
Palmi, founded by the saint. An edition of the Greek text of the saint's life and an Italian translation was published by Giuseppe Rossi Taibbi. == Places of worship dedicated to the saint ==