Saint Gregory the Great. Selected Letters to Eastern Recipients

from Latin, preface, notes by hierodeacon Gregory (Trofimov)

Abstract

The article contains a commented translation of selected letters to the Eastern addressees of St. Gregory the Great, which touch upon ecclesiastical-political, canonical, theological and moral issues. The publication examines both the correspondence of St. Gregory with contemporary Church hierarchs (St. John IV the Faster, St. Eulogius of Alexandria, St. Dometian of Melitene), and his interaction with the secular authorities in the person of Leontia Augusta, the wife of Emperor Phocas. Although the letters cited were written on different occasions, they contain a number of common motifs: on the one hand, St. Gregory’s lamentations about his personal sinfulness and unworthiness, on the other hand, occasional assertions about the special pastoral responsibility of the Bishop of Rome and his moral duty to decide not only the affairs of the Roman Church, but also to give instructions to representatives of the spiritual and secular authorities in the East.