West European Studies

The popes dominant and supreme position within the modern Roman Catholic Church, in addition to the extraordinarily independent state-like status accorded to the Vatican in institutions such as the United Nations where it holds membership, can in many ways be traced to the Early Middle Ages and the actions and advocacy of Pope Gregory the First.  Historically, Western Europe was in decline, the Byzantine Empire was increasingly formidable, and Romes early Christian institutions faced a number of threats to their very survival.  First, in terms of spiritual authority, the patriarch from Constantinople was attempting to merge both spiritual and secular authority in a way that directly challenged the legitimacy and the supremacy of the papal institution in Rome.  Second, at basically the same time that Gregory was compelled by the Lombards attacks on Rome to deal with the potential physical destruction of Rome he was also struggling to secure spiritual authority from the imperial leaders in Constantinople.  His main cultural achievements were creating the intellectual framework for the independence of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome, for vesting spiritual supremacy in the papal position of pope, for insulating spiritual matters and the clergy from the outside secular world, for exporting Christianity to England, and for attempting to connect a healthy type of spiritual life to a healthy type of human psychology.  Because of the constraints of this paper, this discussion will be limited to Pope Gregorys most substantial cultural achievement which was setting the framework for the independence of the Roman Catholic Church and for papal supremacy.

It is important to acknowledge, in the first instance, that many of Pope Gregorys cultural achievements would not have been possible absent what is known in the academic literature as the debate or the dispute over the use of an ecumenical title between Pope Gregory in Rome and the patriarch of Constantinople indeed, it has been noted in this respect that even with respect to modern schisms between Christian religious schools of thought and institutions, that  Nearly every observor of the Eastern OrthodoxRoman Catholic dialogue recognizes that the most significant obstacle to reunion is ecclesiological in nature, namely, the role of the Roman pontiff with respect to the broader church.  This obstacle originated with Pope Gregory when he refused to acknowledge that bishops possessed any independent or universal spiritual authority and when he simultaneously refused to concede the legitimacy of the patriarch of Constantinoples use of an ecumenical title.  Gregory believed and argued that supremacy was vested in the papal institution, that spiritual supremacy resided in Rome and could not be merged with imperial authority in Constantinople, and he tirelessly engaged in a letter-writing campaign in an effort to persuade Constantinople of his position.  His advocacy was consistently rejected and it was actually another special historical circumstance that helped Pope Gregory to prevail in asserting the spiritual supremacy of the papal institution and its independence from the secular world.  More specifically, Rome was at the time being attached by the Lombards and despite pleas for assistance from the imperial powers in Constantinople there was no help forthcoming.

Rome was in danger of being destroyed and Pope Gregory made the decision to engage in independent discussions with the attackers.  This assertion of independence enraged the imperial power it has been noted in this respect that  When he managed to negotiate an armistice with the invaders early in 595, the Byzantine Exarch in Ravenna summarily accused him of treason, and the emperor subsequently characterized him as a diplomatic fool HYPERLINK httpwww.questiaschool.comPM.qstaod5032809056(Demacopoulos 601).

Ultimately, however, Pope Gregory had saved Rome from destruction while simultaneously asserting papal independence and authority.  Though many of the spiritual goals he envisioned did not take place in his lifetime, Pope Gregory created the intellectual and religious foundations for the independence of the Roman Catholic Church, the absolute supremacy of the pope, and the insulation of the clergy from the outside secular world.

In the final analysis, confronted by a number of different types of threats, Pope Gregory managed to engage in a series of dangerous diplomatic efforts through which he saved Rome from destruction by the Lombards, asserted spiritual supremacy over the frequently angered imperial powers in Constantinople, and initiated a cultural and spiritual debate about religious authority which remains to this very day in terms of papal supremacy.  Pope Gregory changed the way people thought about early Christianity and his ideas remain influential more than 1,500 years later.