Gregory I “The Great” (540-604): Founder of the Medieval Church by Chris White

Gregory I

Rome had once been the powerful center of the civilized world.  It’s monuments attested to the military victories and political will of its leaders to expand their empire and protect and defend their holdings at any cost necessary.  But that was all in a historic past that was growing dimmer and dimmer with every year.  Rome the city was still standing and was an important symbol at least in people’s collective memories, but by now it stood alone, vulnerable, and unprotected by what remained of its own empire.

Into this time was Gregory born in the palace on the Caelian hill that had belonged to his aristocratic family for generations.  His family was well-connected to the wealth and power that remained in Rome, his father being a senator (which must have been more like a town council by this time) and his mother a part of the highest social circles.  Gregory’s family was also Christian and had been so for some time.  In the past, the family had produced two popes, but Gregory had been carefully educated in law and was prepared for a career as a public servant.  By his thirties he had reached the pinnacle of success attaining the office of prefect of Rome which was the highest authority in the city.

But as history has its turning points, often these same events become personal turning points as well.  Shortly before Gregory had become prefect of Rome, northern Italy had been invaded by a people known as the Lombards.  The Lombards were a group from Scandinavia who had been migrating south for centuries prior.  They were a Christianized people and had lived within the borders of the Roman empire for so long that they had even adopted parts of Roman culture.  But need and opportunity came together and in 568 they began to conquer and take the Italian peninsula for themselves.  Although Italy still belonged to the Roman Empire which was now situated to the east in Constantinople, they were ill-prepared to defend this territory and little resistance was able to be made against this warring people.  This problem doesn’t touch Rome or Gregory directly for nearly a decade, but year by year it draws closer and nothing seems to be able to stop it.

In the meantime, when Gregory is in his forties, his father dies and he inherits the family’s great wealth and landholdings.  As he considers the turmoil of his times and watches the great cities of Italy fall to siege, famine, and plague, he makes a rather bold decision: he decides to retire from public life and become a Christian monk.  Since a vow of poverty was part of being a monk, part and parcel with this decision was to take the family wealth and endow 6 new monasteries dedicated to St. Andrew.  Having done this, Gregory retires to the monastery in Rome and embarks on his new vocation of religious life pursuing a life of worship, prayer, contemplation, and acts of charity in preparation for eternal life.  It should be known that Gregory thought the end of the world might be near (a thought many Christians leaders have had during times of social upheaval and catastrophe) and if Christ was to return soon he wanted to be found doing the business of the kingdom of God rather than planning a better sewer and water system for Rome.

Gregory pursued his life as a monk with great enthusiasm and unfortunately, like many man in this career, undermined his health by over rigorous fasting and sleep deprivation; something that would plague him greatly in later years.  Soon Gregory was elected by his fellow monks to be their abbot or spiritual leader and as his reputation grew he was later ordained a deacon by the pope.

Monks carried the gospel to all of Europe

Later Pope Pelagius II asked him to be his representative at the Emperor’s court in Constantinople.  This was a great honor but one in which Gregory was quite ‘tone deaf.  He really never learned much Greek as Latin had by his day become the sole language of Rome and he didn’t care much for the pretensions   of the Byzantine world.  That to say, being a diplomat was not a good match Gregory, but in this time as he frequently corresponded with the pope, his writing skills were noticed and upon his recall to Rome, he was asked to become the papal secretary and in this he served with great distinction.

Gregory encounters Angle children

It is during this time that Gregory and two brother monks have an encounter that was to have an impact on the future history of Europe.  As they were passing by a slave market (and yes, slavery was still practiced in the day) Gregory was impressed with the beauty of some children that were being sold there.  Having never seen people of this race he enquired of one of his companions where they were from.  Upon being told they Angles (English), Gregory was said to have famously replied:  “Indeed they would not be Angli, but Angels if they were Christian.”   Later when he became pope he promoted and supported missions to many groups of people, but closest to his heart were the English and the mission he sent there took hold and firmly tied the Christians of England to Rome for the next thousand years until King Henry VIII made his famous break with the papacy.

In the course of time as Gregory neared his 50^th birthday, a terrible plague struck the city of Rome taking as one of its victims pope Pelagius II.  Following his death, a papal election was held and the people and clergy of Rome called on Gregory to take the office of St. Peter.  Gregory at first resisted but saw the need and in 595 AD became the first monk ever elected to the papacy.

Castel San Angelo today

One of Gregory’s first acts was to hold a public procession of humility and repentance before God in hopes of staying the plague that was continuing to rage in the city.  As the procession neared the tomb of Hadrian a vision of the archangel Michael was seen there putting his sword of destruction back in its sheath.  Hadrian’s tomb, now known as the Castel San Angelo, is decorated on top with a beautiful statue of an archangel to commemorate this event.  Surely it is only a pious legend but it is an amazing coincidence that the plague did stop that very day.

As pope, Gregory was an able administrator, tireless worker, and visionary, bringing his monastic viewpoint to bear on the life of the church as well as a mind that had been disciplined in prayer and contemplation.  His pontificate lasted just short of 14 years but in that short span, he put an impress on the church that it was hold throughout the Middle Ages and arguably in some ways still holds.  Let me share some concrete examples.

A great influence on music

Although he did not invent Gregorian chant, Gregory was a hymn writer and poet and wrote in a metered style that was easily chanted and sung by choirs.  Some of hymns are still sung in Catholic liturgy and were made part of the mass.

The Latin mass was largely shaped by Gregory I.  The theology of the Eucharist being an un-bloody but actual repetition of Christ’s sacrifice for the sins of the world precedes his day but Gregory fills the idea with even greater meaning.  When it is served there is a reconciliation of heaven and earth, time and eternity and a spiritual benefit is conferred upon the living and the pious dead in a communion of the church.

In the early church there had long been the belief and practice of offering prayers for the dead.  But in the Christian east purgatory was unknown.   In the west it was an idea that was embellished and came to blossom under Gregory.  To his mind, purgatory was a foregone conclusion.  As each of the Christian faithful died there were remaining sins and infirmities that needed purging before entrance into glory.  Gregory promoted the ideas of saying 30 masses exclusively for the benefit of dead Christians as well as adding almsgiving as an efficacious means of reducing your purgatory time or that of a loved one.  The provision for this eventuality in the life of every Catholic unfortunately degenerated into a form of Holy Fire Insurance over the next millennium.

Dante was famous for his book on Purgatory

Read an excursis on the doctrine of purgatory here

Although Gregory would disclaim any jurisdiction over other bishops around the Christian world he definitely held the view that the Bishop of Rome has the commission of Peter and is above all other bishops in Christendom as a first among equals.  He certainly advised other bishops, churches, kings, queens, and nobles, as if he had jurisdiction over them and sometimes this was not greatly appreciated.  Gregory also acted as a head of state.  As Italy’s civil government continued to suffer neglect and further barbarian attacks, Pope Gregory more or less made the church the government.  He organized social welfare and military protection.  He also governed well the many papal lands around Italy, Europe, and North Africa.  This action set the stage for the development of the later Papal States which were their own country with the Pontiff as the governmental head.  Having actual territory under papal governance was a good thing under Gregory as he used the lands to finance and provide food for the poor of Rome, but later popes would become quite distracted with maintaining control of this property to the point of abandoning their spiritual mission altogether.  The point is Gregory may have disclaimed being a monarchial pope in his writings and words, but is betrayed by his actions despite his protestations.

Gregory was a prolific writer and promotes monasticism as the biographer of St. Benedict of Nursia.  He also writes a book that directs priests in their spiritual ministry called the Pastoral Rule.  This book was very insightful and for centuries the textbook on the care of souls.  Gregory is also the person who articulated the idea of the 7 deadly sins:  pride, covetousness, lust, envy, gluttony, anger, sloth or apathy.  Although he borrowed the idea from the early church, he promoted it and transmitted in his writing to future generations.

Papal throne of Gregory I in Rome

Pope Gregory was untiring in his service to the poor caring for thousands in Rome.  He stood up for the rights of widows and orphans.  When he sat down to a meal, it was never before taking the food prepared for him off the table and giving it to the hungry.  He even sold expensive chalices and sacred vessels belonging to the church to help Rome’s impoverished.   Gregory personally punished himself if anyone died of starvation in his city.  Although some later popes were very much guilty of indulging their pleasures, this pattern of charity for the most part has remained a tradition within the papacy.

Gregory I tomb in St. Peter's today

Upon his death in 604, Gregory was immediately beatified (made a saint by the church) by popular acclamation.  In the 11^th century the church began referring to him as “the Great” a title that has only been applied to one other pope in the entire history of the church.  In the 13^th century Gregory I was declared  a Doctor of the Latin Church in 1298 by then Pope Boniface VIII (one of the few things he did right).  “Doctor” in Latin means a teacher and so this classification denotes an important contribution was made to the teaching of the church in their lifetimes or through their writings.  The Protestant 19^th century historian Philip Schaff sums up his life well:  “Goodness is the highest kind of greatness, and the church has done right in according the title of great to him rather than other popes of superior intellectual power.”

Sources

Bede.  A History of the English Church and People.  (London : Penguin Books, 1968)

Collins, Roger.  Early Medieval Europe 300-1000. (New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2010)

Dawson, Christopher.  Religion and the Rise of Western Culture.  (New York : Doubleday, 1957)

“Gregory I”.  Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.  McClintock and Strong Eds.  (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1981)

Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome.  The Pastoral Rule.  James Barmby D.D. trans.  (Peabody : Hendrickson Publishers, 2004)

Ferguson, Everett.  Church History Vol. 1: Christ to Pre-Reformation. (Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 2013)

Kelly, J.N.D.  The Oxford Dictionary of Popes.  (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1986)

La Due, William J.  The Chair of St. Peter: A History of the Papacy.  (Maryknoll : Orbis, 1999)

Peterson, Curtis, Lang and.  The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History.  (Grand Rapids : Revell, 1994).

Schaff, Philip.  History of the Christian Church vol. 4: Medieval Christianity 590-1073. (Grand Rapids : Eerdmanns, 1994)

St. Simeon Stylites (c. 390-459 AD) : Somewhere between Heaven and Earth by Chris White

Egyptian Icon of St. Simeon

For 36 years a group of monks had tended to the bodily needs of their master by the means of ropes and ladders.  He was one of the most well known and popular ministers of his day.  Respected by kings, village leaders, men both great and small, when he spoke they listened and obeyed.  When he prayed, the infertile had children, the sick were healed, and those tortured by evil spirits were delivered.  But today was different.  Simon Stylites was seen kneeling on one knee and all who tended to him realized this holy man had passed away during the night.  Now they had another problem:  how to get a body down from a 60 tall pillar that had a platform less than 6 square feet. For St. Simon Stylites’ place of residence was a pillar erected on a mountainside where he stood 24 hours a day in the open air worshipping God, praying, and offering counsel and comfort to all who came to see him.

What would lead a saintly man to do such a seemingly odd thing with his life?  Most modern people would simply write off St. Simeon as someone who is mentally unhinged at best and someone with a penchant for self-immolation and an appetite for public attention at worst.  I believe St. Simeon Stylites was perfectly sane and a person of great spiritual and moral character.  That was how he was viewed by the public in his day which suggests that his story has a certain context that requires our understanding before we can appreciate it.  I will consider myself successful in this essay if I can shed some additional light on the subject of the pillar saint from Syria.

Let’s begin with the basic story of St. Simeon Stylites and then from there put this story within its natural context.  Simeon was a shepherd boy who followed in the occupational footsteps of his father.  He was born near Cilicia in Asia Minor which was also the region where St. Paul the Apostle grew up several centuries before.  We are told by one of his disciples, later one of three biographers, that the occasion of his conversion was quite simple.  In the winter of his thirteenth year a heavy snowfall allowed Simeon a day off from his shepherd duties.  It being a Sunday, Simeon felt pulled in the direction of attending a worship service at the church nearby their home.  The Gospel reading that particular morning was the Beatitudes of Jesus.  Simeon was so taken with the force of Jesus’ words that in his heart he became a disciple and shortly thereafter left home to join a monastery hoping for a vocation of prayer and seeking to have a pure heart before God.

During his years at the monastery Simeon had friends but proved through his actions that he had less of a monastic calling and was more wired to be a hermit.  Monks usually all live in community while hermits tend to live alone and apart from a community.  Both are seeking a greater union with God but follow different paths with the monastic vocation being one that requires a more regulated life.

Simeon’s actions were not in the category of “does not play well with others” but rather “does not play by the rules”.  He was always taking the spiritual disciplines of the community to the extreme.  For example, in his community there was a dedication to fasting.  As a group they usually ate three times a week choosing to use the energy directed towards eating for prayer and contemplation.  Simeon would eat only once a week.  During the season of Lent before Easter, Christians of every denomination will frequently fast from something for 40 days as a means of disciplining their bodies.  Food was taken regularly but perhaps meat or wine would be left out of the diet during Lent.  Simeon would just not eat anything at all for 40 days.  His worse transgression however was finding a coarse rope one day and wrapping it tightly around his legs and back and then covering it with his regular robes.  Monks would wear coarse clothing on purpose as a means physical buffeting of their bodies (something akin to self-flagellation) and identifying with the suffering Jesus underwent in his earthly life but Simeon wanted to take this to an extreme wanting coarser underneath the coarse.  What ends up happening is his entire body becomes infected and covered with vermin and he gets caught because he smells so bad that the abbot (the leader of the monastery) demands he explain why no one in the monastery will go near him.  When Simeon exposes his misdeed, the abbot orders the rope removed (which was an ordeal so disgusting I will not speak of it here) and Simeon almost dies requiring him to be nursed back to health.  Finally the abbot of the monastery, concerned that Simeon has some sort of death wish and that he is unable to live by the regulations of the order, sends him away for fear that his example will take hold with the other monks.  Cut loose (literally and figuratively) from the monastery, Simeon continues his pursuit of God as a solo act.

St. Simeon and those who imitated his path

Simeon soon finds a like-minded hermit in a nearby village where he goes to live.  He builds for himself a small rock hut to live in and for the next few years gains the reputation as a holy man as he continues his austerities and lives as one who has completely broken from the system of the world.

Now we get to the interesting (or weird part) of St. Simeon’s story.  For reasons that are never spoken of by Simeon or any of his disciples he makes the decision to live in the open air chained to a rock on the side of Mt. Telanisissas.  A year later, Simeon transfers from the rock to a 6 foot tall pillar.  As time progresses the pillar is built up first to 40 feet and eventually topping out at 60 feet tall.

There are hints given us by Simeon’s biographers that suggest that God gave Simeon the vision of living out in the weather on the rock but because of his personal popularity with the local people, going vertical was the only way of achieving some modicum of solitude.  Another points to the pillar’s ability to make Simeon part of the world but really not of it.  From this disinterested position he was used by God to be a judge of righteousness and mediator of peace among the people.  Finally, Simeon mentions himself that God has called him to be like the prophets of old declaring righteousness and the glory of God to humanity.  One does not have to dive too deeply into the Old Testament to find prophets like Elijah and Ezekiel who were told by God to do things that would be a public spectacle and within the spectacle was the message of God’s intent.

Whatever the exact reasons for Simeon living on a pillar it is undeniable that the pillar was on a mountainside that border a major trade and travel route through Syria.  Anyone who traveled by would find their attention arrested seeing a man standing on a pillar with his arms out praying and looking at a distance like a human cross.  It is also known and recorded that people throughout the world made the pilgrimage to see and hear St. Simeon and to possibly get his counsel or blessing.  Kings, nobleman, the rich and poor, the sick and those disturbed by demons, village leaders, church leaders, even school children streamed from the area and as far away as Spain and Britain to be in his presence.  In the city of Rome, Simeon was a popular figure with the people or more specifically a figurine.  Apparently in the 5^th century you would have been hard pressed to find a shop in Rome that didn’t have a miniature of Simeon on his pillar displayed as a means of warding off evil (and if you have ever owned a small business, you know you need all the help you can get!).

So what was a day like on the pillar of St. Simeon Stylites?  The platform on top of the pillar was too small for him to sit or lie down and so 24 hours a day he remained standing.  A pole on top of the pillar enabled Simeon to be tied up to it so that if he did fall asleep, he wouldn’t fall to his death.  It is said he never slept but apart from some miraculous intervention by God, this simply is not possible as eventually lack of sleep causes your body to shut down.  More likely Simeon took “catnaps” at night between his prayer vigils which began at dusk and continued until 9 am.  At 9 am every day and later at 3pm, Simeon would preach a sermon to whoever was present.  Then during the remainder of the day he would address the visitors and crowds.  The monks that attended him would bring him notes from the people which stated their business and he would reply either in writing or would speak from his lofty perch.

An ancient historian considers St. Simeon Stylites

People that had legal disputes and community leaders between warring villages often came seeking Simeon’s mediations.  Often what he said alone had great power over the people, but Simeon often had peace treaties and legal documents drawn up and stored at the base of his pillar.

Simeon wore a long beard and hair and wore animal hide clothing.  He would often worship the Lord and bow to him spontaneously during the day.  One contemporary tried to count how many times he did this in a day and lost count at 1,200 times.  The point is, Simeon was more than a spectacle, he was an active minister of the Gospel and sought a change of heart and mind in all his visitors.

Like many other hermits, St. Simeon was fairly long-lived.  He died at age 69 which was quiet aged at the time and no small feat for someone who lived in the elements year round and rarely ate or slept.  It is believed what took his life was an infected ulcer on his foot that never healed because he was always standing on it.

With that as a brief outline, let me close out the story of St. Simeon with some historic context which might help us put this unusual saint into perspective.  First of all, I do find it a bit incredible that those of us who daily see people dressed up in costume by the side of the road and constantly waving signs for a mattress sale or a $5 pizza special would think of Simeon Stylites as eccentric and weird.  In a sense, St. Simeon was doing the same thing at a more advanced level and he actually had a very important message to tell his audience.  But that aside, let’s consider what Simeon’s last name means.  Stylite means “column dweller” and thus his name speaks not a family heritage but a category of holy men.

 The pillar was a fairly common feature in the Near East of Antiquity.  There are evidences of pagan religions in this region of the world that had holy pillars.  Once a year the priest of the religion would climb to the top and commune with the local god for a week.  Then he would come down and tell the people what he learned.  As the Near East became increasingly Christian (and it did so rapidly) the community memory of the custom would remain and it’s practical purpose of being an oracle of the spirit world.  If this be true then what might be happening here is that Simeon was taking a local tradition and Christianizing it.  This public spectacle opens the door for his preaching.  We should not be surprised at this for the God of the Bible knows well all the particulars of a local society and often inspires His servants to exploit them for a greater purpose.

Simeon is also what Delahaye and others refer to as a stationary saint.  Although pillar dwelling was fairly uncommon, many hermits (both male and female) were known as anchorites which meant they lived in a purposeful confinement seeking God alone and having people come to them rather than going to the people.  Julian of Norwich and Catherine of Siena are but two other notable examples of this phenomena.  Certainly their lives were quite constricted, but this was a constriction which enabled a constant communion with God.  I believe this has its corollary in the academic and literary world where no great work is done apart from being chained to a writing desk.

Finally, it should be noted that St. Simeon was not singular in his vocation.  In his lifetime he inspired others who in turn became pillar saints and this hardly died out in antiquity.  The practice of pillar saints is known to have continued all the way into the 19^th century.  Pillar saints were not without controversy and eventual regulation by the bishops of the church occurred in the 5^th century.

When he died his pillar was surrounded by and enclosed by 4 churches and monasteries the remains of which stand today as witness to the saint who served God’s people stationed somewhere between heaven and earth.

Remains of Simeon's Pillar today

Sources:

Cairns, Earle E.  Christianity Through The Centuries : A History of the Christian Church.  (Grand Rapids : Academie Books, 1981)

Davidson, Ivor J.  A Public Faith : From Constantine to the Medieval World.  (Grand Rapids : Baker Books, 2005)

Durant, Will.  The Story of Civilization Vol. IV: The Age of Faith. (New York : Simon and Schuster, 1950)

Guy, Laurie.  Introducing Early Christianity : A Topical Survey of Its Life, Beliefs, and Practices.  (Downers Grove : Intervarsity Press, 2004)

Latourette, Kenneth Scott.  History of Christianity: Beginnings to 1500 AD.  (New York : Harper and Row, 1975)

“Pillar Saints”.  Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.  McClintock and Strong Eds.  (Grand Rapids : Baker Book House, 1981)

“St. Simeon Stylites” Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.  McClintock and Strong Eds.  (Grand Rapids : Baker Book House, 1981)

Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church Vol. 3: Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity AD 311-600.  (Grand Rapids : Eerdmanns, 1910)

The Lives of Simeon Stylites.   Robert Doran Trans. (Spencer : Cistercian Publications, 1992)

Benedict of Nursia (480-547 AD) by Chris White

St. Benedict

Benedict was born into a world that was slipping into disorganization and chaos.  His life was lived in the aftermath of the fall of Rome and the disintegration of the Western Roman Empire.  Despite the social upheaval of the era, the Church continued to survive and thrive as it always does and as Benedict reached his adulthood and saw his life going down the tubes into immorality, he was touched and converted by the gospel.  As he sought out what this might mean for his life he felt the calling to join a monastery near Rome.  Benedict approached this unique calling with great zeal and as a young believer was chosen to be the leader of his monastery.  Unfortunately his youthful zeal and lack of experience made him an unbending and demanding leader.  Strange but true, his brother monks actually became so desperate to get rid of him that they attempted to poison his dinner one night.  The plot to kill him failed but Benedict did leave (which in that sense it was a success) and eventually started another monastery having learned a few lessons about leadership and having a more tempered zeal.

His new approach (which we call The Rule of St. Benedict) was to actually contribute to the building up of Europe as a largely Christian civilization over the next 1400 years.  Under the Rule monks were called to a life of prayer and work as a means of serving God now and preparing their souls to be with Him in the future.  This was actually quite a radical change because work was seen as something to be avoided at all costs.  At the Benedictine monasteries, everyone worked 4 hours a day doing things to either help the community or further the faith.  In addition to this they spent another 8 hours a day (with breaks for other things) in prayer and worship of the Lord.

It was in this laboratory of work and prayer and community life 24/7 that the Bible was copied, classical learning and philosophy were preserved, farmland was cleared, roads were built, people were educated, medicine and medical care was provided, and advances in agriculture were made which raised food production.  When a monastery became established it was never long before a town would grow up around it. Benedict’s Rule influenced many other groups and has inspired even government leaders in how to lead communities. Even though the Roman civilization and its order had crumbled, the movement of Benedictine monasticism eventually helped rebuild a new Christianized one for all of Western Europe.  Benedictines remain today and continue their rhythm of “ work and pray” and for that contribution we consider St. Benedict of Nursia to be one of the shapers of the Christian faith.