INTRODUCTION
THEISSUE& PURPOSE
Whatis the spiritualityof St. Gregorythe Great' and how it relatesto his ministryof
pastoral
carein the Churchandcourt?
will show that Gregory's spiritualityembraceda celestialperspective(in the
Thisresearch
overallschemeof things), encapsulateda Christo-centricfocus (in Christianministry) and
a connecting of paradoxes(in managing life's paradoxesand ambivalence).
embodied
These
threekey featuresdescribedhis spiritualitywhich framed the nature of his pastoral
in the Church and court. This was illustratedby the mannerin which he dealt with
ministry
thenumerousissuesthat he had encounteredduring his pontificate.Incidentally,some of
theissueson pastoralcare are also facedby pastorsof the contemporaryworld.
in the local
Forexample,it is generallyrecognisedthat in additionto the responsibilities
churchand denomination,pastors2are often confoundedwith a host of responsibilities
office. Fundamentally.as far as clerical
outsidethe traditional domain of the ecclesiastical
"Gregory"
rUnless
will be usedto refer to St. Gregory thc Great.
otherwisestated.from henceforth.the term
2lnlheTheologicalDictionary of the l,lew Testament,theterm "poimen" refers to "Christ as the shepherdof
providingfor his peopleand watching over them. The term is also usedfor congregationalleadersand in
souls,
particular
to pastorswho are to carc for his congregation,seek the lost and combat error."cf. Gerhard Kittel
andGcrhardFriedrich eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testamer?/.trans. by Geoffrey W. Bromiley .
GrandRapids,Michigan. EerdrnansPublishing Company, 1985, pp 903-904. J. F. Hopewell statesthat the
"pastor"has severalbiblical referencesand metaphors. He points out that the term "pastor" is the "Latin
term
rvordforshepherd,and conveysthe image frequentin both the Old Testament(Ps.80,Isa.40:ll. Jer.23:l-;l:
Ezek.34) and the New Testament(Heb. l3:20: I Pet.2:25)which disclosesthrough the work of the shepherder
"Pastor".
Dictionar.v r>J
God'sloving protection and guidance of God's people,the flock. cf. J.F.Hopewellin
Pastoral('are and Counselling. Rodney J. Hunter, Gen Ed. Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1990. p.827. In this
"pastor", "clergy" and "minister" are usedinterchangeably.
paper.
the tcrms
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r
I
and the Courts is
in secularaffairs vis-d-vis the aflairs of the community
participation
with regards to this
there is little consensusamong christian theologians
c6ncerned,
in relation to the Church
question:What is the nature of the pastoralministry
perennial
"middle path"
Gregory advocateda
andcourt? In this research,it will be shown that
reasonis theological:
in the pastoralministry in the church and court. The main
approach
(a celestialperspective)and
bothChurchand court are instituted by the sovereignGod
the context of the
the pastor should afffirmhisacall and exercisehis role within
therefore
andcourt that God hasplacedhim'
Church
betweenthe active and
Anotherpracticalissuethat Gregory wrestledwith was the relation
to
life. On one hand, the active life provides the excellent opportunity
contemplative
life
to the world the reality of Christ in Christianservicewhile the contemplative
witness
life through
providesthe atmosphereconducive for the developmentof the religious
hand, the active life
spiritualdisciplinessuch as prayer and bible reading. On the other
of pursuing
often.in its hub of activities, has the potential to rob the meditative aspect
make one
spiritualitywhile the cultivation of the contemplativelife could sometimes
or balance be
obliviousto the needs of the changing world. How can an integration
achieved?
Gregoryconnectedthe paradoxesin achievingan equilibriumbetweenthe contemplative
andthe active in the form of a
"mixed life." He expressedthe connection between
and activelife in theHomilies of Ezekiel :
contemplative
"Church", "community". "state" and "pastoral care" used in this
3lnfrapp.3-5
for the dehnition of the terms
paper.
"his" is usedgenerically.It includesboth the masculineand ferninine genders'
aln
thispaper,the terrn
a
strive from the active to the
But it must be understood that just as a good order of life is to
to the active' so that the acttve
contemplative,so the spirit frequently revertsfrom the contemplative
kindled the rnind' Therefore we
life maybe lived the more perfectly becausethe contemplative has
of what we fiavc perceived
mustpassfrom the active to the contemplative, yet sometimes because
inwardlvin the mind it is better to withdraw from the contemplativeto the active'5
a
It is alsosignificantto note that Gregory, in the words of Carole Straw, encapsulated
,,Christo-centric
spirituality."6 In other words, the nature of his pastoral ministry was
by Christ shaping his thoughts and occupying the central focus in his
characterised
ministry.
Hence,I must state that my primary thesis is that the spirituality of Gregory may be
as one which embraceda celestialperspective,encapsulateda Christo-centric
described
ti
ti
l1
focusand embodieda connecting of paradoxesthat framed the nature of his pastoral
ministry.
ll
I
tl
ll
II DEFINITION
t:
Theterm'Church'is used to refer to a fellowshipof believerswhich professesChrist as
LordandSaviour and is committedto express faith in God and communicatefaith in the
the traditional domain of influenceand power that
Godof the Bible. It also encapsulates
sheexercisedwithin the hierarchical set-up of its organisation.TDuring the time of
5Theodosia
Gray, trans. The Homilies of St Gregory the Greal: On the Book of the prophet lizekiel, edited by
presblteraJuliana
Cownie,Etna, California:CenterforTraditional Orthodox Studies,l990.II.II.ll. (Futurc
shall be noted in terms of ,FIEz.followed by Book. Homily and Paragraph.e.g. HEz II.II.1 1 refers to
quotations
on Ezekiel Book II. Homily II and ParagraphI l.)
Homilies
6Carole
Strarv, Gregor.v the Great : Perfection in the Imperfection, Berkeley and Los Angeles. California.
of California Press.1988.p. 148.
Universitv
7lt
shouldalso bc noted that it was Pope Calixtus | (l?l-224) who first developedthe idea of thc papacy and
linkedtheprirnatial position of the pope to the doctrine of Petrine origin. Thereafter, it was Leo I ([?l a6l)
thaterecteda fully fledged and satisfiing doctrine culminating in the juristic successionof the pope to St.
peter.And it rvas basedon the legal framework of the classicalRoman law where the heir takes over all the
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that there is really no
the Church's influence saturatedthe community such
Gregory,
'court' refers
The term
betweenchurch and communityas is understoodtoday.
distinction
zones of the nation or empire't [n
to theexecutive,judicial and imperial administrative
thisstudy.theterms..court,,and..State,'willbeusedinterchangeably'
the term
Traditionally,
'pastoral' is derived from the biblical word for shepherdand
pastor's oversight of the
theologyrefers to the theology of shepherdingi'e' the
pastoral
that dealswith the
of God. ln the wider sense,all traditional and modern literature
people
care refersto ordained
,,cure
of Souls"constitutea kind of pastoraltheology andpastoral
religious leaderswho bring the resources,wisdom, and the religious
or acknowledged
during Gregory's
authorityto bear on human distress.e This definition is applicable
pontificate.
was almost
It shouldbe noted that Roman catholicism's focus of pastoral theology
1I
on the activity of the priest. But a paradigm shift took place in Vatican
exclusively
meansthat
wherethefocuswas moved from the clergy to the church as a whole.r0 This
Papal Primacy"' The
liabilities of the deceased.cf. walter ullmann"'Leo I and the Theme of
assetsandall
pp. 35-46 for a
especially
pp.33,34
and
1960
Journalof EcclesiasticaiHistory, vol. XI Part I, April
M'
Winter' 'Sairt
Michael
also
See
of Leo I's exposition of the doctrine of Petrine succession.
discussion
of St Pcter
general
discussion
for
a
pp.
38-81
peterandthe Popes,London. Dafton. Longman & Todd. 1960
thoughts.
in patristic
sThe
very closely with thc imperial
church during Gregory's time was the Imperial church that functions
which had led Pope
succession
Petrine
the
claim
po*,ers.In fact. it was. Uy Cr.gory', time. that Rome could
a high vierv of
took
himself
Gregory
Peter.
Leoto seehirnself o, ,p"utlng and writing in the person of
they have
whom
of
bishops
tl.re
over
bishops
authorit'of the popc over the Church and of the metropolitan
1986' pp'
Press'
(]reat, Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity
cf. G.R.Evans.The y'houghto.f Gregory the
charge.
123-129.
'L.O.Mills."Pastoral Carc", Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counselling' Rodney J' Hunter' Gen Ed'
"pastoral care" and "pastoral ministry" will be uscd
Abingdon press. lgg0, p.g36. In this paper,
Nashville:
interchangcablY.
"PastoralTheology, Roman catholic", Dictionary of Pastoral (lare and (lounselling. Gen. ed'
,,?..L.Kinast.
J. Hunter.Nashville.AbingdonPress'1990'p'873'
Rodnel'
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meaning
careis not just confinedto the careby the pastorsbut takes on a broader
pastoral
of
membersof the religiouscommunitywho reflect a commitmentto the values
to include
thegroup.
no specific
Forthepurposeof this study, it should be noted that during Gregory's era,
of pastoraltheology was articulated.Nonethelesswe shall note the pre-Vatican
definition
of pastoral theology where the shepherdingministry undertakenby the
II understanding
all ministriesin the Church and court. Gregory declared,
pastor
encompasses
Churches"
...1havesubrnitted...to the pastoralburden.. I am compelled to discusscausesnow of the
certaln
now of the monasteries,often to ponder the lives and actions of individuals. Now to bear
wolvcs
troublesof the citizens, now to groan over the attacking swordsof the barbarians,and fear tlte
lvingin wail for the flock committedlo Ine.ll
revealedGregory's burdenfor pastoralcare.He understood pastoral care
Thestatement
asinitiatedby God and has subsequentlyplacedin him a burdento servethe churchesand
( i.e. Church and court). This was illustratedby God who walked with Adam and
citizens
Evein the garden,visited Moses in the burning bush and intervenedin human history in
of JesusChrist are challenged
pastorsas under-shepherds
Consequently,
theIncarnation.
to emulatethis initiative of pastoralcare.
[I SCOPE
Thisresearchwill focus on a study of the spirituality of Gregory and its relation to his
pastoralministry in the Church and court during his pontificate(i.e. between AD 590 to
604). Though Gregory had produced some significantwritings, he did not produce any
"
HI:2.1.,\1.6.
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examiningthe primary materialsas
onsystematicor biblicaltheology' However' in
works
wellas secondarysources, it will be shown that
the three features are keY to an
to his pastoralministry'
andunderstandingof his spiritualityand its relation
appreciation
secularand christian theories of
Thisstudywill not include contributionsfrom modern
ministry in the last fifty
and psychotherapythat had influencedthe pastoral
psychology
they are related to the
yearsor more, though referenceswill be highlightedwherever
of pastoralcarein the contemporarysituation'
application
IV METHODOLOGY
would provide helpful
It is proposedthat an examinationof the spirituality of Gregory
will enumerate
into appreciatingthe natureof his pastoralministry' Chapter One
insights
I
I
I
I
and ecclesiasticalbackground of Gregory, his writings, appointments
thesocio-political
and
This will provide the context for an appreciationof Gregory's spirituality
andservice.
of his
Chapter Two will explore the spirituality of Gregory' An appreciation
ministry.
necessitatesan inductive approach in theological reflection and engagement
spirituality
ministry in the church and
withhisprimarywritingsr2,writings about him and his pastoral
Pastorulis (the Book of
court.Specialattentionwill be paid to his famous Liber Regula
pastoralcarel Rules) which deals with his approachto pastoral work and spirituality,
Ezekiel, elc"' Wherever
Moralia (()ommentary on Job), Dialogues, Homilies on
other writings in that period (e.g. Ambrose,Augustine,Cassian,Chrysostom
appropriate,
chapter Three will
etc...)will be includedfor the purposeof comparisonand contrast.
of pastoral care in the
thenexaminethe relation of Gregory's spiritualityto his ministry
works. cf. Bibliography on p' tt-5
,,Rcference
will be rnadeto the availableEnglish translationsof Gregory's
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iil.
I
in nature rather than as a
andcourt. The relationshipwas essentiallyinteractive
church
practical
developmentof theologicalconceptswhich undergirdedhis
of a systematic
result
an analysisof
Thiswas primarily a result of Gregory's pragmatism' As such'
ministry.
appreciate the
issuesrelating to his pastoral ministry will be discussedto
specific
the
Finally, the Conclusion will restate the thesis and reflect briefly
relationship.
in the
of the spirituality of Gregory for the ministry of pastoral care
implications
world.
contemporary
t
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t
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