Everything about Gregory The Great totally explained
Saint Gregory I the Great or
Pope Saint Gregory I (c.
540 –
March 12,
604) was
pope from
September 3,
590 until his death.
He is also known as
Gregory the Dialogist (
Gregorios Dialogos) in
Eastern Orthodoxy because of the
Dialogues he wrote. For this reason, English translations of Orthodox texts will sometimes list him as "Gregory Dialogus". He was the first of the Popes from a
monastic background. Gregory is a
Doctor of the Church and one of the four great
Latin Fathers of the Church (the others being
Ambrose,
Augustine, and
Jerome). Of all popes, Gregory I'd the most influence on the
early medieval church.
Immediately after his death, Gregory was canonized by popular acclaim. He is seen as a patron of England.
Biography
Early life
The exact date of St. Gregory's birth is uncertain, but is usually estimated to be around the year
540. He was born into a wealthy noble Roman family, in a period, however, when the city of
Rome was facing a serious decline in population, wealth, and influence. His family seems to have been devout. Gregory's great-great-grandfather had been Pope
Felix III. Gregory's father, Gordianus, worked for the
Roman Church and his father's three sisters were
nuns. Gregory's mother
Silvia herself is a
saint. While his father lived, Gregory took part in Roman political life and at one point was
Prefect of the City. However, on his father's death, he converted his family home, located on a hill just opposite the
Circus Maximus, into a
monastery dedicated to the
apostle Saint Andrew. Gregory himself entered as a
monk.
Eventually, Pope
Pelagius II ordained him a
deacon and solicited his help in trying to heal the
schism of the
Three Chapters in
northern Italy. In
579, Pelagius II chose Gregory as his
apocrisiarius or ambassador to the imperial court in
Constantinople.
Introduction of Celibacy
In Constantinople, Gregory first gained attention by starting a
controversy with
Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople, who had published a treatise on the corporeality of the imminent
General Resurrection, in which bodies would be incorporeal, to which Gregory contrasted the corporeality of the risen
Christ. The heat of argument drew the
Roman emperor in as judge. Eutychius' treatise was condemned, and it suffered the normal fate of all
heterodox texts, of being
publicly burnt. On his return to Rome, Gregory served as secretary to Pelagius II, and was elected Pope to succeed him.
This was a positive light shed upon Pope or "Papa Gregory" as he was then called, after his favor was acknowledged in the eye of the
emperor. Accounted between 590 and 604, Gregory I first introduced the edict of celibacy. This is now widely believed amongst historians to have had an ulterior motive, this being, to prevent property and material wealth of the Papacy from passing from church to possible wives, families or mistresses of the clergymen.
Gregory as Pope
When he became Pope in
590, among his first acts were writing a series of letters disavowing any ambition to the throne of Peter and praising the contemplative life of the monks. At that time the
Holy See hadn't exerted effective leadership in the West since the pontificate of
Gelasius I. The episcopacy in
Gaul was drawn from the great territorial families, and identified with them: the parochial horizon of Gregory's contemporary,
Gregory of Tours, may be considered typical; in
Visigothic Spain the
bishops had little contact with Rome; in
Italy the papacy was beset by the violent
Lombard dukes and the rivalry of the Jews in the
Exarchate of Ravenna and in the south. The scholarship and culture of
Celtic Christianity had developed utterly unconnected with Rome, and it was from
Ireland that
Britain and
Germany were likely to become
Christianized, or so it seemed.
Servus servorum Dei
In line with his predecessors such as
Dionysius,
Damasus, and
St. Leo the Great, St. Gregory asserted the
primacy of the office of the
Bishop of Rome. Although he didn't employ the term "Pope", he summed up the responsibilities of the papacy in his official appellation, as "servant of the servants of God". As
Benedict of Nursia had justified the absolute authority of the
abbot over the souls in his charge, so Gregory expressed the
hieratic principle that he was responsible directly to
God for his
ministry.
St. Gregory's pontificate saw the development of the notion of private
penance as parallel to the institution of public penance. He explicitly taught a doctrine of
Purgatory where a soul destined to undergo purification after death because of certain sins, could begin its purification in this earthly life, through
good works,
obedience and Christian conduct, making the travails to come lighter and shorter.
St. Gregory's relations with the Emperor in the East were a cautious diplomatic stand-off. He concentrated his energies in the West, where many of his letters are concerned with the management of papal estates. His relations with the
Merovingian kings, encapsulated in his deferential correspondence with
Childebert II, laid the foundations for the papal alliance with the
Franks that would transform the Germanic kingship into an agency for the Christianization of the heart of Europe — consequences that remained in the future.
More immediately, Gregory undertook the conversion of the
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, where inaction might have encouraged the Celtic missionaries already active in the north of Britain. Sending
Augustine of Canterbury to convert the
Kingdom of Kent was prepared by the marriage of the king to a Merovingian princess who had brought her
chaplains with her. By the time of Gregory's death, the conversion of the king and the Kentish nobles and the establishment of a Christian toehold at
Canterbury were established.
St. Gregory's chief acts as Pope include his long letter issued in the matter of the
schism of the Three Chapters of the bishops of
Venetia and
Istria. He is also known in the East as a tireless worker for communication and understanding between East and West. He is also credited with increasing the power of the papacy.
According to the
Catholic Encyclopedia, he was
declared a saint immediately after his death by "popular acclamation".
Liturgical reforms
In letters, St. Gregory remarks that he moved the
Pater Noster (Our Father) to immediately after the
Roman Canon and immediately before the
Fraction. This position is still maintained today in the Roman Liturgy. The pre-Gregorian position is evident in the
Ambrosian Rite. Gregory added material to the
Hanc Igitur of the Roman Canon and established the nine
Kyries (a vestigial remnant of the
litany which was originally at that place) at the beginning of
Mass. He also reduced the role of deacons in the Roman Liturgy.
Sacramentaries directly influenced by Gregorian reforms are referred to as
Sacrementaria Gregoriana. With the appearance of these sacramentaries, the
Western liturgy begins to show a characteristic that distinguishes it from Eastern liturgical traditions. In contrast to the mostly invariable Eastern liturgical texts, Roman and other Western liturgies since this era have a number of prayers that change to reflect the feast or liturgical season; These variations are visible in the
collects and
prefaces as well as in the Roman Canon itself.
A system of writing down reminders of chant melodies was probably devised by monks around 800 to aid in unifying the church service throughout the Frankish empire.
Charlemagne brought
cantors from the Papal chapel in Rome to instruct his clerics in the “authentic” liturgy. A program of
propaganda spread the idea that the chant used in Rome came directly from Gregory the Great, who had died two centuries earlier and was universally venerated. Pictures were made to depict the dove of the Holy Spirit perched on Gregory's shoulder, singing God's authentic form of chant into his ear. This gave rise to calling the music "
Gregorian chant". A more accurate term is
plainsong or plainchant.
Sometimes the establishment of the
Gregorian Calendar is erroneously attributed to Gregory the Great; however, that calendar was actually instituted by
Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 by way of a
papal bull entitled,
Inter gravissimas.
Feast Day
The current
Roman Catholic calendar of saints, revised in
1969 as instructed by the
Second Vatican Council, celebrates St. Gregory the Great on
3 September. The
General Roman Calendar of 1962, whose use is permitted under the conditions indicated in the
motu proprio Summorum Pontificum assigns his feast to
12 March. The reason why his feast was moved from the date of his death to that of his episcopal
consecration was to transfer it outside of
Lent, within which it would otherwise always fall, reducing his celebration in the
Roman Rite to at most a mere commemoration.
The
Eastern Orthodox Church and the associated
Eastern Catholic Churches continue to commemorate St. Gregory on
12 March. The occurrence of this date during
Great Lent is considered appropriate in the
Byzantine Rite, which traditionally associates Saint Gregory with the
Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, celebrated only during that
liturgical season.
Other Churches too honour Saint Gregory: the
Church of England on
3 September, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the
Episcopal Church in the United States on
12 March.
A traditional
procession is held in
Żejtun,
Malta in honour of Saint Gregory on
Easter Wednesday, which most often falls in April, the range of possible dates being
25 March to
28 April.
Works
Gregory is the only Pope between the
fifth and the
eleventh centuries whose correspondence and writings have survived enough to form a comprehensive
corpus. "His character strikes us as an ambiguous and enigmatic one,"
Norman F. Cantor observed. "On the one hand he was an able and determined administrator, a skilled and clever diplomat, a leader of the greatest sophistication and vision; but on the other hand, he appears in his writings as a superstitious and credulous
monk, hostile to learning, crudely limited as a
theologian, and excessively devoted to saints,
miracles, and
relics".
- Sermons (forty on the Gospels are recognized as authentic, twenty-two on Ezekiel, two on the Song of Songs)
- Dialogues, a collection of often fanciful narratives including a popular life of Saint Benedict
- Commentary on Job, frequently known even in English-language histories by its Latin title, Magna Moralia
- The Rule for Pastors, in which he contrasted the role of bishops as pastors of their flock with their position as nobles of the church: the definitive statement of the nature of the episcopal office
- Some 850 letters have survived from his Papal Register of letters, which serves as an invaluable primary source
- In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Gregory is credited with compiling the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. This liturgy is celebrated on Wednesdays, Fridays, and certain other weekdays during Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite.
Sermon on Mary Magdalene
In a
sermon whose text is given in
Patrologia Latina, 76:1238‑1246, Gregory stated that he believed "that the woman Luke called a sinner and John called Mary was the Mary out of whom Mark declared that seven demons were cast" (
Hanc vero quam Lucas peccatricem mulierem, Joannes Mariam nominat, illam else Mariam credimus de qua Marcus septem damonia ejecta fuisse testatur), thus identifying the sinner of, the Mary of and (the sister of
Lazarus and
Martha of Bethany), and
Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons .
While most Western writers shared this view, it wasn't seen as a Church teaching, but as an opinion, the pros and cons of which were discussed (see, for instance, the 1910
article on St. Mary Magdalen
in
The Catholic Encyclopedia). With the liturgical changes made in 1969, there's no longer mention of Mary Magdalene as a sinner in Roman Catholic liturgical materials.
The Eastern Orthodox Church has never accepted Gregory's identification of Mary Magdalene with the sinful woman.
Iconography
In art Gregory is usually shown in full pontifical robes with the tiara and double cross, despite his actual habit of dress. Earlier depictions are more likely to show a monastic tonsure and plainer dress. Orthodox
icons traditionally show St. Gregory vested as a bishop, holding a
Gospel Book and blessing with his right hand. It is recorded that he permitted his depiction with a square
halo, then used for the living. A dove is his
attribute, from the well-known story recorded by his friend
Peter the Deacon, who tells that when the pope was dictating his homilies on
Ezechiel a curtain was drawn between his secretary and himself. As, however, the pope remained silent for long periods at a time, the servant made a hole in the curtain and, looking through, beheld a dove seated upon Gregory's head with its beak between his lips. When the dove withdrew its beak the pope spoke and the secretary took down his words; but when he became silent the servant again applied his eye to the hole and saw the dove had replaced its beak between his lips.
This scene is shown as a version of the traditional
Evangelist portrait (where the Evangelists' symbols are also sometimes shown dictating) from the tenth century onwards. Usually the dove is shown whispering in Gregory's ear for a clearer composition.
The imaginative and anachronistic example at the top of this article is from the studio of
Carlo Saraceni or by a close follower, ca 1610. From the Giustiniani collection, the painting is conserved in the
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome
(External Link).
Alms
Gregory was famous for his charity works. He had a hospital built next to his house on the
Caelian Hill to host poor people for dinner, at his expense. He also built a monastery and several
oratories on the site. Today, the namesake church of
San Gregorio al Celio (largely rebuilt from the original edifices during the 17th-18th centuries) remembers his work. One of the three oratories annexed, the oratory of St. Silvia, is said to lie over the tomb of Gregory's mother.
Famous quotes
Non Angli, sed Angeli.("They are not Angles, but Angels.") said by Gregory when he first encountered blue-eyed, blond-haired English boys at a slave market, sparking his dispatching of St. Augustine of Canterbury to England to convert the English, according to Bede.
Gregory himself wanted to go to England as a missionary. However, one day while praying about this and reading Sacred Scripture a locust landed upon his text. He shouted out locusta, Latin for locust, but reflecting on it he saw it as a sign from Heaven since the similar sounding loco sta means "stay in place (for example in Rome)."
Pro cuius amore in eius eloquio nec mihi parco (For the love of it (referring back to uerbi = the Word = the Gospel, cf. Cod. Sang. 211 p. 193 col. 1, line 5), I don't spare myself from communicating it. (for example the Word = the Gospel), 'Homilies on Ezekiel', Bk 1.11.6 (cf. Cod. Sang. 211 p. 193 col. 2, lines 1-3).
When Augustine asked whether to use Roman or Gallican customs in the mass in England, Gregory said, in effect, whatever advances the Faith, for "...things are not to be loved for the sake of a place, but places are to be loved for the sake of their good things." (Bede, Ecclesiastical History, i 27 III, ed McClure, Collins, Oxford 1994).
Reception
In Britain, appreciation for Gregory remained strong even after his death, with him being called Gregorius noster ("our Gregory") by the British.(External Link)(External Link) It was in Britain, at a monastery in Whitby, that the first full length life of Gregory was written, in c.713(External Link). Appreciation of Gregory in Rome and Italy itself, however, came later, with his successor Sabinian (a secular cleric rather than a monk) rejecting his charitable moves towards the poor of Rome. In contrast to Britain, the first early vita of Gregory written in Italy was produced by John the Deacon in the 9th century.
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