Monastic Life
From 574 to 578, Gregory lived as a monk in Saint
Andrew’s, probably following the rule of Saint Benedict.
In his own writings he describes this as the happiest
time of his life. In 578, Gregory—against his will—was
ordained by the pope and was sent as the pope’s ambas-
sador to the court of Byzantium. Since the Lombards
were advancing toward Rome, the pope needed the help
of Emperor Tiberius, and this crisis required Gregory’s
political acumen. For six years, Gregory endured the
worldly court at Byzantium, adhering as much as pos-
sible to his monastic regimen. It was during this time
that he wrote his Morals on the book of Job, after meet-
ing Saint Leander of Seville. A dispute arose between
Gregory and Eutychius, the patriarch of Constantinople,
on certain aspects of the resurrection. Gregory’s mission
was a failure, and he learned from it that Rome could no
longer count on help from the eastern church. Gregory’s
subsequent course of action as pope would determine
the policy of the western papacy toward Constantinople
throughout the Middle Ages.
Around 585–586, Gregory returned to Rome and
Saint Andrew’s monastery, where he was elected ab-
bot soon afterward. During this time, his Morals was
published and distributed. Gregory’s famous encounter
with English slaves in the Roman Forum also happened
during this period. As a result of his renown, he advanced
to become chief adviser, assistant, and secretary to Pope
Pelagius II. A letter by Gregory to the schismatic bishops
of Istria still survives from this time; as a treatise, it gives
hints of his skill as a writer and theologian.
The year 589 brought disasters throughout Italy. The
Tiber overfl owed its banks, and indeed there were fl oods
in the entire peninsula. A plague swept through Rome,
leaving the city full of corpses and virtually deserted
by the living. When Pope Pelagius II died in February
590, the clergy and people of Rome were unanimous in
their choice of Gregory as his successor; but Gregory,
who did not want to be pope, wrote to Emperor Maurice
asking him not to confi rm the election. While waiting
for a reply, Gregory was called on to lead a sevenfold
procession through Rome, praying to God to end the
plague. The legend that the archangel Michael himself
was seen stopping the plague reinforced the belief
among the Romans that Gregory was God’s elect, and
when the emperor confirmed their choice Gregory
was consecrated pope on 3 September 590, despite his
protests.
Gregory’s Pontifi cate (590–604)
The papacy proved to be a considerable strain on Greg-
ory’s health; he suffered constantly from indigestion,
fever, and also from gout during the later years of his life.
It is remarkable how much he accomplished despite his
infi rmities. The short work Liber pastoralis curae (Book
on the Offi ce of a Bishop) was published by Gregory
at the beginning of his pontifi cate, and he adhered to it
closely. One of his fi rst acts was to replace the laypeople
in the Lateran palace with clerics; and since no magister
militum lived in Rome, he also assumed command of all
military matters in the city. He instituted the “stations”
still observed today and recorded in the missal.
There is some disagreement on the extent of Grego-
ry’s reforms of the Roman liturgy, but he did make the
following modifi cations:- He ordered the paternoster (Lord’s prayer) to
be recited in the canon before the breaking of
the host. - He prohibited the use of the chasuble by subdea-
cons assisting at mass. - He inserted the words diesque nostros in tua
pace disponas, atque ab aeterna damnatione
nos eripi, et in electorum tuorum jubras grege
numerari in the canon of the mass. - He provided that the alleluia should be chanted
after the gradual except during paschaltide (the
period following Easter). - He forbade deacons to perform any of the musi-
cal portions of the mass other than singing the
gospel.
Gregory was a peerless manager of the vast estates
owned by the church: the yearly income from its
landholdings in Africa, Sicily, and Campania—well
over 1,300 square miles (3,380 square kilometers) all
together—has been estimated at more than $1.5 million
by today’s standards. He appointed clerics as his rectors,
teaching them how to provide detailed accounts and
reports concerning their districts.
Even though much of Italian territory was in the
hands of the Lombards and their Arian clergy, Gregory
tried to care for the needs of the faithful in these dio-
ceses whenever an opportunity arose. On the islands
near Italy, of which Sicily was the largest and most
important, he maintained and strengthened the existing
church structure. Local synods on a regular basis were
strictly enforced, and Gregory’s many letters attest to
his concern for this practice. He approached the fi lling
of bishoprics in a disciplined way, enforced the celibacy
of the clergy, maintained the exemption of clerics from
lay tribunals, and did not hesitate to deprive clerics of
their holdings and offi ces if they were guilty of criminal
or scandalous offenses.
It is well documented that Gregory maintained,
strengthened, and extended the powers, privileges,
and jurisdiction of the head of the Roman see over all
other Christian churches. In fact, Gregory’s claim that
the Roman see had supreme authority over the church
universal was the basis for the primacy of the papacy
GREGORY I, POPE