Chapter 5

ST. GREGORY THE GREAT.

The state of Rome as a city after the prefecture of Narses, 272

Contrast of Nova Roma, 274

The Rome of the Church a new city, 275

St. Gregory's antecedents as prefect, monk, nuncio, and deacon of the Roman Church, 276

Elected Pope against his will. His description of his work, 278

And of the time's calamity, 279

The utter misery of Rome expressed in the words of Ezechiel, 281

Contrast between the language used of Rome by St. Leo and St. Gregory, 283

St. Gregory closes his preaching in St. Peter's, overcome with sorrow, 284

The works of St. Gregory out of this Rome, 285

The Lombard descent on Italy, 287

Rome ransomed from the Lombards, and Monte Cassino destroyed, 290

The Primacy untouched by the temporal calamities of Rome, 292

Its unique prerogative brought out by unequalled sufferings, 293

The new city of Rome lived only by the Primacy, 294

St. Gregory's account of the Primacy to the empress Constantina, 295

He identifies his own authority with that of St. Peter, 296

Writes to the emperor Mauritius that the union of the Two Powers would secure the empire against barbarians, 297

Claims to the emperor St. Peter's charge over the whole Church, 298

John the Foster's assumed title on injury to the whole Church, 299

What St. Gregory infers from the three patriarchal sees being all sees of Peter, 301

Contrast drawn by St. Gregory between the Pope's Principate and John the Faster's assumed title, 302

The fatal falsehood which this title presupposed, 303

The opposing truth in the Principate made _de Fide_ by the Vatican Council, 306

St. Leo against Anatolius, and St. Gregory against John the Faster, occupy like positions, 307

St. Gregory's title, "Servant of the servants of God," expresses the maxim of his government, 308

The fourteen books of St. Gregory's letters range over every subject in the whole Church, 309

The special relation between the sees of St. Peter and St. Mark, 311

Asserts his supremacy to the Lombard queen Theodelinda, 311

St. Gregory appoints the bishop of Arles to be over the metropolitans of Gaul, 312

The venture of St. Gregory in attempting the conversion of England, 313

St. Augustine commended to queen Brunechild and consecrated by the bishop of Arles, and the English Church made by Gregory, 315

Work of St. Gregory in the Spanish Church, 316

He relates the martyrdom of St. Hermenegild, 316

His letters to St. Leander of Seville, 317

Conversion of king Rechared, 318

St. Gregory's letter of congratulation to him, 318

Letter of king Rechared informing the Pope of his conversion, 321

Gibbon's account of the government which was the result of Rechared's conversion, 322

The important principles thus consecrated by the Church, 324

Overthrow of the Arian kingdoms in Africa, Spain, Gaul and Italy, between Pope Felix III. and Pope Gregory I., 325

The equal failure of Genseric, Euric, Gondebald, and Theodorick, 327

The part in this which the Catholic bishops had, 329

The Spanish monarchy first of many formed by the Church, 331

Superiority of this government to the Byzantine absolutism, 332

St. Gregory as fourth doctor of the western Church, 334

St. Gregory as a chief artificer in the Church's second victory, 335

Summary of St. Gregory's action as metropolitan patriarch and Pope, 337

Councils held by him in Rome: protection of monks, 338

His management of the Patrimonium Petri, 340

His success with schismatics and heretics, 341

The Primacy from St. Leo to St. Gregory, 342

The continued rise of the bishop of Constantinople, 343-5

The political degradation and danger of Rome, 345

Long disaster reveals still more the purely spiritual foundation of the Primacy, 346

Testimony given by the disappearance of the Arian governments and the conversion of Franks and Saxons, 347

The patriarchate of Constantinople imposed by civil law, 348

The Nicene constitution in the East impaired by despotism and heresy, 349

The persistent defence of this constitution by the Popes, 350

The Petra Apostolica in the sixty Popes preceding Gregory, 352

As discerned by Hurter in the time of Pope Innocent III., 353

As in the time from Pope Innocent III. to Leo XIII., 355

The continuous Primacy from St. Peter to St. Gregory, 355

As Rome diminishes the Primacy advances, 356

The times in which it was exercised by St. Gregory, 358

The opposing forces which unite to sustain the Petra Apostolica, 359

INDEX, 361

THE HOLY SEE AND THE WANDERING OF THE NATIONS.