His support of the rigorous view of ecclesiastical poverty played a part in the ideology of the groups coming to be known as the Spiritual Franciscans or Fraticelli.
", to be identified with Arnaud Gaillard, then a formed bachelor back from Paris) voiced his opposition to Olivi's views on the Franciscan vow of poverty, which prompted him to write a Treatise on poor use (De usu paupere).
His doctrine was examined by seven Franciscan theologians at Paris, who first drew up a list of errors (Littera septem sigillorum) and then substantiated it by a roll (rotulus)[5] of citations from Olivi's writings.
He spent his last years in the convent of Narbonne lecturing and writing his masterwork on the Apocalypse of John, revising his commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, corresponding, and acting as pastor to a community of "Spiritual" Franciscans and devout laypersons.
He died surrounded by his friends, who familiarly called him "Saint Peter," after an earnest profession of his Catholic Faith (published by Wadding ad a.
A near contemporary stated, not quite accurately, that he had written commentaries on every book in the Bible: he never fulfilled his plan to comment on the prophecy of Daniel or the epistles to the Corinthians.
He was a consistent believer in, and practitioner of, the holy life as taught by Jesus, lived by the Apostles, and restored to the church by Francis of Assisi, without, however, indulging in the personal extremism that characterized certain skeletal figures.
His work On Sale, Purchase, Usury and Restitution, or more simply On Contracts (as in the latest edition by S. Piron, 2012), contains a subtle discussion of the pricing of risks and probabilities in connection with valuing compensation due for compulsory requisitioning of property.
His friends, friars and laity alike, venerated their leader, and even honored his tomb as that of a saint; on the other hand, the General Chapter of Lyon in 1299, ordered his writings to be collected and burned as heretical.
His writings were absolutely forbidden by the General Chapter of Marseilles, and a special commission of theologians examined Olivi's Lectura super Apocalypsim and marked sixty sentences as heretical, chiefly citations of Joachim of Flora.