The Dialectical Tension in the Soul of Gregory the Great

Gregory is generally acknowledged as the first of the medieval popes and the last of the Fathers. He was a most remarkable man, both in his activ-ity and in his thought. It is surprising therefore that he was almost entirely forgotten in the West after his death. His memory was kept alive in the East through his writings, especially the Dialogues which was to be found widely in both monastic and secular libraries.1 His memory was also pre-served by the English who attributed their conver-sion to Gregory for his decision to send Augustine to evangelize their island. Forgotten in Rome, the earliest life of Gregory was written far away in the north of England by an anonymous monk of Whitby.2 When Pope John VIII (r 872-82) realized Gregory’s popularity in England, he commis-sioned deacon John of Rome to write a life. Along with Benedict, Gregory had an enormous influence upon the flourishing of late medieval monasticism under the Cistercians. There are many echoes of Gregory in the writings of Bernard of Clairvaux.3 In the Reformation, all of the popes came under heavy fire from Calvin, with the sole exception of Gregory, whom he came to regard very highly indeed.