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St. Paul As a Model and Teacher in the Writings of St. Gregory the Great

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St. Paul As a Model and Teacher in the Writings of St. Gregory the Great THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA St. Paul as a Model and Teacher in the Writings of St. Gregory the Great A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Sacred Theology Doctorate By Brendan P. Lupton Washington, D.C. 2013 St. Paul as a Model and Teacher in the Writings of St. Gregory the Great Brendan P. Lupton, S.T.D. Director Susan Wessel, Ph.D. The Apostle Paul plays an important role in the writings of Gregory the Great, who reserves such distinguished titles for him as egregius praedicator, magnus regendi artifex, and peritus medicus. Gregory cites the Apostle more often than any other scriptural author in the Pastoral Rule and Paul is the second most frequent biblical source in the Moralia outside of the Gospels. Given this prominence, it is worth examining how Gregory uses the letters of Paul in his writings. The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze Gregory’s portrayal of Paul as a model Christian, as a model pastor, as a model preacher and as a teacher for clerics. This dissertation will follow the method of historical literary criticism to examine how Gregory uses Paul. The first section provides a summary of how the deeds of the saints function within Gregory’s narrative, which will help to explain Gregory’s intentions for using Paul. The second section will examine Gregory’s portrayal of Paul as a model Christian, which will include Gregory’s description of Paul as a model of virtue, detachment, and conversion. The third chapter will present some background information on two of Gregory’s most frequent Pauline examples: Paul as a humble pastor and Paul as a model of the “mixed life,” i.e., the combination of both the active and contemplative lives. The fourth section will show that Gregory portrays Paul as a model pastor. For Gregory, Paul is above all a humble minister and is able avoid the lure of power in its various forms. He also presents Paul as a model of the “mixed life” and as a model preacher. In the final section, I shall demonstrate that Gregory utilizes Paul as a teacher of preachers and pastors, which is found primarily in the third section of the Pastoral Rule. In terms of the contribution of this dissertation, this study will be the first comprehensive analysis of Gregory’s use of Paul. This project will advance our understanding of Gregory’s conception of the Apostle and his use of Paul in his writings. This dissertation by Brendan P. Lupton fulfills the dissertation requirements for the doctoral degree in Historical Theology approved by Dr. Susan Wessel, Ph.D., as Director, and by Dr. Tarmo Toom, Ph.D., and Fr. Regis Armstrong, Ph.D. ________________________________________ Dr. Susan Wessel, Ph.D., Director ________________________________________ Dr. Tarmo Toom, Ph.D., Reader ________________________________________ Fr. Regis Armstrong, Ph.D., Reader iii CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND................................................1 Thesis......................................................................................................................3 Gregory’s Life........................................................................................................9 Gregory’s Theological Works................................................................................26 CHAPTER 2: THE ROLE OF THE SAINT IN GREGORY’S WRITINGS....................55 Saints as Pedagogues.............................................................................................57 Gregory on Imitation..............................................................................................64 Frequently Considering the Example of the Saints................................................71 CHAPTER 3: GREGORY’S UNDERSTANDING OF PAUL AND HIS USE OF THE APOSTLE AS A MODEL CHRISTIAN..........................................................................74 Holiness of Paul.....................................................................................................75 Greatness of Paul...................................................................................................79 Paul as a Model Christian......................................................................................87 CHAPTER 4: GREGORY’S UNDERSTANDING OF PRIDE AND CONTEMPLATION........................................................................................................110 The Church of Late Antiquity..............................................................................111 Contemplation......................................................................................................132 What is Contemplation for Gregory?...................................................................133 CHAPTER 5: PAUL AS MODEL PASTOR..................................................................140 Paul as a Model of Humble Authority.................................................................141 Paul as a Model of the Mixed Life.......................................................................158 Paul as Model Preacher........................................................................................169 CHAPTER 6: PAUL AS A TEACHER AND CONCLUSION......................................184 Paul as a Teacher.................................................................................................184 Conclusion...........................................................................................................191 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS..........................................................................................200 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................201 iii Gregory the Great, who was pope between 590-604, loved Scripture. In fact, he wrote, “Sacred Scripture without any comparison surpasses all knowledge and learning.”1 Furthermore, in terms of studying the word of God, Gregory explained, “As often as we study it [eloquium Dei] through our understanding, what is it other than to enter the shade of the forest, so that we might be hidden in its coolness from the heat of this age?”2 Reflecting his high estimation of Scripture, Gregory’s theological corpus is laced with scriptural allusions, references, and quotations. Among the biblical books, Gregory loved to quote the words and deeds of the Apostle Paul. He reserved such distinguished titles for him as egregius praedicator,3 magnus regendi artifex,4 and peritus medicus.5 Gregory cited the Apostle more often than any other Scriptural author in the Pastoral Rule,6 and Paul was the second most frequent biblical source in the Moralia outside of the gospels.7 Given this prominence of Paul, it is worth examining how Gregory uses both his letters and deeds in his writings. 1 Gregory, Mor. 20.1.1; S. Gregorii Magni Moralia in Iob, ed. Marcus Adriaen, CCL 143, 143A, 143B Turnholt: Brepols, 1979): Omnem scientiam atque doctrinam scriptura sacra sine aliqua comparatione transcendat. All Latin translations are my own. 2 Gregory, Hez. 1.5.1; S. Gregorii Magni Homiliae in Hiezechihelem Prophetam, ed. Marcus Adriaen, CCL 142 (Turnholt: Brepols, 1971): Hanc quoties intellegendo discutimus, quid aliud quam siluarum opacitatem ingredimur ut in eius refrigerio ab huius saeculi aestibus abscondamur? 3 Gregory, Mor. 6.33.52. 4 Gregory, Reg. past. 1.8; Règle pastorale, trans. Charles Morel, SC 381 (Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1992). 5 Gregory, Mor. 24.16.41. 6 John Moorhead, Gregory the Great, The Early Church Fathers (London: Routledge, 2005), 27. 7 Robert Gillet, introduction to Moralia in Job, by Gregory I, trans. André de Gaudemaris, SC (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1975), 82. 1 2 Previous Scholarship: Conrad Leyser and John Moorhead have already begun to consider the question of how Gregory uses Paul. Leyser has published an essay titled, “Pope Gregory the Great: Ego Trouble or Identity Politics?” and a book called, Authority and Asceticism from Augustine to Gregory the Great. In the former, Leyser explains that Gregory models his own leadership on the pastoral strategies of St. Paul: “He [Gregory] styled himself after the Old Testament prophets, but above all, as we shall see, he took as his model the Apostle Paul.”8 In his book, Leyser states that when Gregory discusses preaching strategies in his commentary on Ezekiel “The dominant figure . is not Ezekiel, but Paul. It is Paul that Gregory refers again and again in illustrating how different sinners can be led to listen to moral rebuke and advice.”9 Furthermore, Leyser argues that, for Gregory, Paul is an ascetic and a contemplative.10 Moorhead mainly describes Gregory’s use of Paul in contrast to Augustine’s. He writes, “Paul is an important person for Gregory, but he cuts a very different figure in the writings of Augustine.”11 Moorhead is emphasizing that Augustine primarily used Paul as a source for theological investigation. The Bishop of Hippo had wrestled with the Apostle’s ideas on freedom, grace, the will, and the relationship between the Old and New Testament. Of course, Augustine did not limit himself to just Paul’s speculative points, but also discusses the Apostle’s 8 Conrad Leyser, “Pope Gregory the Great: Ego-Trouble or Identity Politics?,” in Ego Trouble: Authors and Their Identities in The Early Middle Ages, ed. Richard Corradini et al., Denkschriften der Phil. -Hist. Klasse Series (Austria: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften,
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