No sooner had he left Massawa than he sent forth a demand for a house in Chalacot belonging to Nathaniel Pearce, an Englishman then residing in the country, because the Abuna had heard it was the finest one in the realm.
[2] Pearce reported that shortly thereafter, Qerellos proclaimed that "every man wanting to be confirmed a priest must first bring him four amolehs, or pieces of salt.
In 1819, the Abuna went to Gondar, where he tried to settle the doctrinal disputes that rent the Ethiopian Church; however, when he allegedly supported the Unctionist formula, Qerellos was forced to flee the city to Tigray Province.
A letter he wrote to Pope Peter VII of Alexandria survives, dated to 1827, wherein he complains of the Abuna's behavior, sarcastically asking, "Was it because you hated Ethiopia that you sent him?
"[7] Mordechai Abir writes that Ras Yimam banished him to the monastery in Lake Tana, where Qerellos remained until his death, although Abir also notes alternative accounts of Qerellos' death exist: "Another version ... claims that Kerilos was banished to Tigre where after meddling with politics he was killed by Seb'agadis in 1824, or was murdered as a result of a quarrel over some property with one of Seb'agadis's governors".