St Gregory the Dialogist, Pope of Rome, passed away on this day in 604. The name of St. Gregory the Dialogist (so-called for his Dialogues) is very well known to the members of the Russian Church (as Sviatoi Grigorii Dvoeslov, with dvoeslov being a false-etymological translation of Greek dialogos). This especially applies during Great Lent, since the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is traditionally attributed to him. St. Gregory was born in Rome when it was under the control of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was a relatively quiet period of time. Justinian’s genius commander Belisarius had regained Italy from the Goths in 536–538, though a new Germanic people, known as the Longobards, began to conquer territories within modern-day Italy, leaving the Byzantines only an administrative capital in Central Italy (Ravenna) and Rome. Although St. Gregory belonged to the Old Roman aristocracy, he did not want to keep “a silver spoon in his mouth.” He gave away his possessions and set up a monastery in his villa. His mother St. Silvia also led a monastic life. St. Gregory’s education, especially in law, made him a good candidate to represent the Сhurch of Rome in Constantinople (apokrisiarios). The empire could not come to the aid of the “Italians” in their struggle against the Longobards; however, St. Gregory proved himself to be an efficient communicator and learned theologian, pointing out to Patriarch Eutychios that his teaching about bodies of the saints becoming something like a phantom after their resurrection was wrong. In 590, a mighty flood in Rome, which caused a plague, took the life of Pope Pelagius. The city residents elected Gregory as his successor. He thus became the first monastic pope. I doubt that it was a popular job to be Bishop of Rome at that time. The pope represented the only real Christian authority for the people of Rome. He had to negotiate with invaders and protect his flock from the abuses of the Byzantine imperial administration. St. Gregory actively interacted with churches in Europe, from Italy to Spain and North Africa. During his tenure, the church in the British Isles was returned to the fold of the Roman See. His relationship with the Patriarchate of Constantinople was complex. Cultural differences were taking their toll and did not permit St. Gregory, for instance, to understand that the title of “Ecumenical” used by the Archbishop of Constantinople did not constitute a claim of superiority over the See of St. Peter.
Source: A.R. Fokin, “Gregorii Velikii,” Pravoslavnaia Entsiklopedia | 
