February 5 - Plain Songs

February 5 – Plain Songs

Meanwhile, back in Rome, while no longer the capital of an empire was still connected to Peter and Paul. The bishops of Rome worked long and hard to gain power throughout the church and one day, the bishop of Rome was all of a sudden (ok, not so all of a sudden … it happened) the pope.

Now, the pope wasn’t quite the big deal he is today until a man who considered himself just a monk got into the mix and even though he wanted nothing to do with it, was selected as the new pope.

Gregory was born in 540 and at the age of 50 a unanimous decision brought him to power. He had been a prefect of Rome, his family had been involved in politics and he was the right man for the job at the right time. When the city was threatened, he appealed to the emperor in Constantinople for help – which was refused. So, he went ahead, gathered troops, negotiated with the invaders and brought peace. He wasn’t trying to be political, he just wanted peace in his city.

Gregory cared about the people and believed that the clergy should be shepherds … pastors. He wrote about theology and how the pastors should take care of their flock. He was responsible for sending Benedict’s monks to England as evangelists.

This evangelistic mission to England transformed more than ten thousand lives and Augustine of Canterbury became the first Archbishop. The pope’s rule now extended up to England.

He was responsible for many of the beliefs that remain in Catholicism. Based on Augustine’s curiosity about a place where God cleansed the unconfessed sins of Christians at death, he developed the doctrine of purgatory (purging). He taught that God’s forgiveness might require acts of penance.

Gregory wrote about the saints, telling stories of the fantastic and the miraculous. It was during his time as pope, that people began to venerate the saints and no church for centuries after him was built without the relic of a saint placed in it.

He loved church music and the plainsong chant – the Gregorian chant began because of his influence.

The bishop of Constantinople claimed that he was the Ecumenical Patriarch. Gregory refused to accept that type of title, but he believed that he was the head pastor of the church around the world. He had done so much in his tenure as pope, that he became known as Gregory the Great, though he remained a very humble monk.