Spiritual Care and Political Praxis. a New Look at the Emerging Patterns of Church-State Relations in the Early Medieval West
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by eScholarship@BC Gregorio Magno: Spiritual Care and Political Praxis. A New Look at the Emerging Patterns of Church-State Relations in the Early Medieval West Author: Wayne Louis Belschner Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:107327 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2017 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. Boston College School of Theology and Ministry GREGORIO MAGNO: SPIRITUAL CARE AND POLITICAL PRAXIS. A NEW LOOK AT THE EMERGING PATTERNS OF CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS IN THE EARLY MEDIEVAL WEST A Dissertation by Wayne Louis Belschner submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Sacred Theology February 2017 © Copyright 2017 Wayne Louis Belschner To Lucy Ryan Gregorio Magno: Spiritual Care and Political Praxis. A new look at the emerging Patterns of Church-State Relations in the Early Medieval West By Wayne Louis Belschner Director: Richard Lennan Readers: Francine Cardman, George Demacopoulos, Robin Fleming, Catherine Mooney Abstract By the time Gregory the Great (590-604) began his ministry as bishop of Rome, the political, economic, and social circumstances in Italy were dire, as evidenced by ongoing barbarian threats, Rome’s failing infrastructure, monuments and aqueducts in need of repair, abandoned farms, and decimated populations. As a result, demands were made on Gregory to tend to both the spiritual and physical needs of the people in Rome and in Italy. I argue that through his actions and writings, Gregory took control of the situation, and transcended pre- established ecclesiastical policies and procedures that permitted religious authorities to enter into political affairs. An examination of the fourth-century paradigm of Ambrose, bishop of Milan, and the fifth-century paradigm of Leo the Great, bishop of Rome, introduces earlier examples in which pastoral leaders became active in state matters. Gregory, while not explicitly stating their influence on him, goes beyond them both and develops a paradigm uniquely his own. Gregory’s eschatology significantly shaped his understanding of the need to be involved in both religious and political matters. In analyzing his Pastoral Rule, Moralia, and homilies on the Gospels and the Prophet Ezekiel, I have identified the virtues and qualities that Gregory felt all pastoral leaders must possess. The resulting profile of leadership emphasizes the moral conduct and the intentionality that those in authority need to operate. Through examining a large selection of his letters, I have been able to present a political theology that was key to Gregory’s entrance into political affairs and his development of social programs that tended to the physical needs of the people. I conclude that Gregory’s profile of leadership and political theology reveal a new paradigm which is his contribution to the ongoing development of the relationship between the Church and the state as both emerge from the age of late antiquity. Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................................... I ABBREVIATIONS OF BOOK AND JOURNALS .............................................................................................. II ABBREVIATIONS OF TEXTS ...................................................................................................................... III INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER ONE: HISTORICAL FACTORS IN THE DECLINE OF THE IMPERIAL WEST ..................................... 16 1.0.0: Overview .................................................................................................................................... 16 1.1.0: Early Scholarship on the Decline and Decay of the West .......................................................... 17 1.2.0: Current Scholarship on the decline and decay of the West ........................................................ 24 1.2.1: The Political Fallout .................................................................................................................... 28 1.2.2: The Transformation of the Roman Senate ................................................................................. 31 1.2.3: The Barbarians ........................................................................................................................... 36 1.3.0: The Role of Christianity .............................................................................................................. 41 1.4.0: Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 53 CHAPTER TWO: A FOURTH-CENTURY ECCLESIAL PARADIGM: AMBROSE OF MILAN ............................... 54 2.0.0: Overview .................................................................................................................................... 54 2.1.0: Ambrose of Milan: Transformation from the political to the religious realm ............................ 54 2.2.0: Ambrose of Milan: Actions and Writings ................................................................................... 58 2.2.1: The Altar of Victory .................................................................................................................... 59 2.2.2: The Milanese Basilicas ............................................................................................................... 65 2.2.3: The Synagogue in Callinicum ..................................................................................................... 70 2.2.4: The Massacre at Thessalonica ................................................................................................... 78 2.2.5: De Officiis ................................................................................................................................... 84 2.3.0: The Ambrosian Paradigm .......................................................................................................... 95 CHAPTER THREE: A FIFTH-CENTURY ECCLESIAL PARADIGM: LEO I .......................................................... 99 3.0.0: Overview .................................................................................................................................... 99 3.1.0: Leo the Great: Pontifex Maximus ............................................................................................ 100 3.2.0: Leo the Great: Actions and Writings ........................................................................................ 105 3.2.1: Roman Primacy ........................................................................................................................ 106 3.2.2: Leo: Defensor fidei ................................................................................................................... 114 3.2.3: Leo: Defensor Urbis .................................................................................................................. 123 3.2.4: Leo: Cura Animarum et Cura Romae........................................................................................ 130 3.3.0: The Leonine Paradigm ............................................................................................................. 138 CHAPTER FOUR: THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF GREGORY’S SIXTH-CENTURY WORLD ................................ 140 4.0.0: Overview .................................................................................................................................. 140 4.1.0: Gregory: A Biographical Portrait.............................................................................................. 140 4.2.0: Sixth-Century Rome.................................................................................................................. 150 4.2.1: Weakening of Secular Authority & Emergence of Ecclesiastical Authority in the West ........... 152 4.2.2: Limited Imperial Functions and Emergence of the Authority of the Bishop of Rome. ............. 164 4.3.0: Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 177 CHAPTER FIVE: THE GREGORIAN WORLD ............................................................................................. 179 5.0.0: Overview .................................................................................................................................. 179 5.1.0: Rome and the Eschaton ........................................................................................................... 179 5.2.0: Profile of Leadership ................................................................................................................ 188 5.3.0: Moral Conduct and Right Intention of the Pastoral Leader ..................................................... 200 CHAPTER SIX: THE GREGORIAN PARADIGM: THE CHARACTER OF PASTORAL LEADERSHIP ................... 216 6.0.0: Overview .................................................................................................................................. 216 6.1.0: The Key Virtues for Leadership ................................................................................................