In his relations with the churches which lay outside the strict limits of his patriarchate, in northern Italy, Spain, Gaul, Africa and Illyricum and also in the East, Gregory consistently used his influence to increase the prestige and authority of the Roman See. In his view Rome, as the see of the Prince of the Apostles, was by divine right “the head of all the churches.” The decrees of councils would have no binding force “without the authority and consent of the apostolic see”: appeals might be made to Rome against the decisions even of the patriarch of Constantinople: all bishops, including the patriarchs, if guilty of heresy or uncanonical proceedings, were subject to correction by the pope. “If any fault is discovered in a bishop,” Gregory wrote, “I know of no one who is not subject to the apostolic see.” It is true that Gregory respected the rights of metropolitans and disapproved of unnecessary interference within the sphere of their jurisdiction canonically exercised; also that in his relations with certain churches (e.g. those in Africa) he found it expedient to abstain from any obtrusive assertion of Roman claims. But of his general principle there can be no doubt. His sincere belief in the apostolic authority of the see of St Peter, his outspoken assertion of it, the consistency and firmness with which in practice he maintained it (e.g. in his controversies with the bishops of Ravenna concerning the use of the pallium, with Maximus the “usurping” bishop of Salona, and with the patriarchs of Constantinople in respect of the title “ecumenical bishops”), contributed greatly to build up the system of papal absolutism. Moreover this consolidation of spiritual authority coincided with a remarkable development of the temporal power of the papacy. In Italy Gregory occupied an almost regal position. Taking advantage of the opportunity which circumstances offered, he boldly stepped into the place which the emperors had left vacant and the Lombard kings had not the strength to seize. For the first time in history the pope appeared as a political power, a temporal prince. He appointed governors to cities, issued orders to generals, provided munitions of war, sent his ambassadors to negotiate with the Lombard king and actually dared to conclude a private peace. In this direction Gregory went farther than any of his predecessors: he laid the foundation of a political influence which endured for centuries. “Of the medieval papacy,” says Milman, “the real father is Gregory the Great.”

The first monk to become pope, Gregory was naturally a strong supporter of monasticism. He laid himself out to diffuse the system, and also to carry out a reform of its abuses by enforcing a strict observance of the Rule of St Benedict (of whom, it may be noted, he was the earliest biographer). Two slight innovations were introduced: the minimum age of an abbess was fixed at sixty, and the period of novitiate was prolonged from one year to two. Gregory sought to protect the monks from episcopal oppression by issuing privilegia, or charters in restraint of abuses, in accordance with which the jurisdiction of the bishops over the monasteries was confined to spiritual matters, all illegal aggressions being strictly prohibited. The documents are interesting as marking the beginning of a revolution which eventually emancipated the monks altogether from the control of their diocesans and brought them under the direct authority of the Holy See. Moreover Gregory strictly forbade monks to minister in parish churches, ordaining that any monk who was promoted to such ecclesiastical cure should lose all rights in his monastery and should no longer reside there. “The duties of each office separately are so weighty that no one can rightly discharge them. It is therefore very improper that one man should be considered fit to discharge the duties of both, and that by this means the ecclesiastical order should interfere with the monastic life, and the rule of the monastic life in turn interfere with the interests of the churches.”

Once more, Gregory is remembered as a great organizer of missionary enterprise for the conversion of heathens and heretics. Most important was the two-fold mission to Britain—of St Augustine in 596, of Mellitus, Paulinus and others in 601; but Gregory also made strenuous efforts to uproot paganism in Gaul, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Arianism in Spain, Donatism in Africa, Manichaeism in Sicily, the heresy of the Three Chapters in Istria and northern Italy. In respect of the methods of conversion which he advocated he was not less intolerant than his contemporaries. Towards the Jews, however, he acted with exceptional lenity, protecting them from persecution and securing them the enjoyment of their legal privileges. The so-called “simoniacal heresy,” particularly prevalent in Gaul, Illyricum and the East, be repeatedly attacked; and against the Gallican abuse of promoting laymen to bishoprics he protested with vigour.

The extent and character of Gregory’s works in connexion with the liturgy and the music of the church is a subject of dispute. If we are to credit a 9th century biographer, Gregory abbreviated and otherwise simplified the Sacramentary of Gelasius, producing a revised edition with which his own name has become associated, and which represents the groundwork of the modern Roman Missal. But though it is certain that he introduced three changes in the liturgy itself (viz. the addition of some words in the prayer Hanc igitur, the recitation of the Pater Noster at the end of the Canon immediately before the fraction of the bread, and the chanting of the Allelulia after the Gradual at other times besides the season of Easter) and two others in the ceremonial connected therewith (forbidding deacons to perform any musical portion of the service except the chanting of the gospel, and subdeacons to wear chasubles), neither the external nor the internal evidence appears to warrant belief that the Gregorian Sacramentary is his work. Ecclesiastical tradition further ascribes to Gregory the compilation of an Antiphonary, the revision and rearrangement of the system of church music, and the foundation of the Roman schola cantorum. It is highly doubtful, however, whether he had anything to do either with the Antiphonary or with the invention or revival of the cantus planus; it is certain that he was not the founder of the Roman singing-school, though he may have interested himself in its endowment and extension.

Finally, as Fourth Doctor of the Latin Church, Gregory claims the attention of theologians. He is the link between two epochs. The last of the great Latin Fathers and the first representative of medieval Catholicism he brings the dogmatic theology of Tertullian, Ambrose and Augustine into relation with the Scholastic speculation of later ages. “He connects the Graeco-Roman with the Romano-Germanic type of Christianity.” His teaching, indeed, is neither philosophical, systematic nor truly original. Its importance lies mainly in its simple, popular summarization of the doctrine of Augustine (whose works Gregory had studied with infinite care, but not always with insight), and in its detailed exposition of various religious conceptions which were current in the Western Church, but had not hitherto been defined with precision (e.g. the views on angelology and demonology, on purgatory, the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and the efficacy of relics). In his exposition of such ideas Gregory made a distinct advance upon the older theology and influenced profoundly the dogmatic development of the future. He imparted a life and impulse to prevailing tendencies, helping on the construction of the system hereafter to be completed in Scholasticism. He gave to theology a tone and emphasis which could not be disregarded. From his time to that of Anselm no teacher of equal eminence arose in the Church.

Gregory died on the 12th of March 604, and was buried the same day in the portico of the basilica of St Peter, in front of the sacristy. Translations took place in the 9th, 15th and 17th centuries, and the remains now rest beneath the altar in the chapel of Clement VIII. In respect of his character, while most historians agree that he was a really great man, some deny that he was also a great saint. The worst blot on his fair fame is his adulatory congratulation of the murderous usurper Phocas; though his correspondence with the Frankish queen Brunhilda, and the series of letters to and concerning the renegade monk Venantius also present problems which his admirers find difficult of solution. But while it may be admitted that Gregory was inclined to be unduly subservient to the great, so that at times he was willing to shut his eyes to the vices and even the crimes of persons of rank; yet it cannot fairly be denied that his character as a whole was singularly noble and unselfish. His life was entirely dominated by the religious motive. His sole desire was to promote the glory of God and of his church. At all times he strove honestly to live up to the light that was in him. “His goal,” says Lau, “was always that which he acknowledged as the best.” Physically, Gregory was of medium height and good figure. His head was large and bald, surrounded with a fringe of dark hair. His face was well-proportioned, with brown eyes, aquiline nose, thick and red lips, high-coloured cheeks, and prominent chin sparsely covered with a tawny beard. His hands, with tapering fingers, were remarkable for their beauty.

Gregory’s Works.—The following are now universally admitted to be genuine:—Epistolarum libri xiv., Moralium libri xxxv., Regulae pastoralis liber, Dialogorum libri iv., Homiliarum in Ezechielem prophetam libri ii., Homiliarum in Evangelia libri ii. These are all printed in Migne’s Patrologia Latina. The Epistolae, however, have been published separately by P. Ewald and L. M. Hartmann in the Monumenta Germaniae historica (Berlin, 1887-1899), and this splendid edition has superseded all others. The question of the chronological reconstruction of the Register is dealt with by Ewald in his celebrated article in the Neues Archiv der Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde, iii. pp. 433-625; and briefly by T. Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, v. 333-343. For information about these writings of Gregory, consult especially G. J. T. Lau, Gregor I. der Grosse, pt. ii. chap. i. Die Schriften Gregors and F. Homes Dudden, Gregory the Great (see Index II. B.). In addition to the above-mentioned works there are printed under Gregory’s name in Migne’s Patrologia Latina, vol. lxxix., the following:—Super Cantico Canticorum expositio, In librum primum Regum variarum expositionum libri vi., In septem psalmos poenitentiales expositio and Concordia quorundam teslimoniorum s. scripturae. But (with the possible exception of the first) none of these treatises are of Gregorian authorship. See the discussions in Migne, Lau and Dudden.

Authorities.—(a) The principal ancient authorities for the life and works of Gregory are given in their chronological order. They are: Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum, x. 1; Liber pontificalis, “Vita Gregorii Magni”; Isidore of Seville, De vir. illustr. 40, and Ildefonsus of Toledo, De vir. illustr. i.; an anonymous Vita Gregorii (of English authorship) belonging to the monastery of St Gall, discovered by Ewald and published by F. A. Gasquet, A Life of Pope St Gregory the Great (1904); Bede, Historia ecclesiastica, ii. c. 1; Paul the Deacon, Vita Gregorii Magni (770-780); John the Deacon, Vita Gregorii (872-882). (b) Recent Literature: J. Barmby, Gregory the Great (1892); T. Bonsmann, Gregor I. der Grosse, ein Lebensbild (1890); F. Homes Dudden, Gregory the Great: his place in History and Thought (2 vols., 1905); G. J. T. Lau, Gregor I. der Grosse nach seinem Leben und seiner Lehre geschildert (1845); C. Wolfsgruber, Gregor der Grosse (1897). See also F. Gregorovius, Rome in the Middle Ages (Eng. trans.) ii. 16-103; T. Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, v. cc. 7-10; H. K. Mann, The Lives of the Popes, i. 1-250; F. W. Kellett, Pope Gregory the Great and his Relations with Gaul; L. Pingaud, La Politique de Saint Grégoire le Grand; W. Wisbaum, Die wichtigsten Richtungen und Ziele der Tätigkeit des Papstes Gregors des Grossen; W. Hohaus, Die Bedeutung Gregors des Grossen als liturgischer Schriftsteller; E. G. P. Wyatt, St Gregory and the Gregorian Music; and the bibliographies of Gregory in Chevalier, Répertoire des sources historiques du moyen âge, and A. Potthast, Bibliotheca historica medii aevi.

(F. H. D.)

Gregory II., pope from 715 to 731, succeeded Constantine I., whom he accompanied from Constantinople in 710. Gregory did all in his power to promote the spread of Christianity in Germany, and gave special encouragement to the mission of St Boniface, whom he consecrated bishop in 722. He was a staunch adherent of the East Roman empire, which still exercised sovereignty over Rome, Ravenna and some other parts of Italy, and he impeded as far as possible the progress of the Lombards. About 726, however, he became involved in a conflict with the emperor Leo the Isaurian on account of the excessive taxation of the Italians, and, later, on the question of image worship, which had been proscribed by the government of Constantinople. Leo endeavoured to rid himself of the pope by violence, but Gregory, supported by the people of Rome and also by the Lombards, succeeded in eluding the emperor’s attacks, and died peacefully on the 11th of February 731.