Gregory the Great, pope from 590 to 604, served during a time of swift transition with the breakdown of the Empire. Taking his cue from Augustine, Gregory read the events of his time to indicate that the world was moving swiftly to a close. His rich eschatology impacted a number of different aspects of his theology. The question is whether it also impacted his practice.
Gregory the Great is also known for his missional efforts. He actively sent missionaries to barbarian tribes in Northern Italy, the Lombards in Spain, and perhaps most notably, to England. While Gregory’s robust eschatology has been noted in some studies (Daley, Dagens, Baun), his missional enterprises have received much less attention. Recent works on Gregorian missionary efforts tend to focus on administrative, cultural, and practical ministry (Markus, Ricci, Dudziak). No studies have sought to explore the theological background of Gregory’s impetus to missions. The purpose of this paper then will be to determine whether, and to what extent, Gregory’s eschatology was influential for his missional program of global evangelism.
The paper will refute Claude Dagens’ assertion of two “distinct and irreconcilable” eschatological positions in Gregory’s corpus and show how Gregory’s apocalypticism finds its fulfillment in the triumphalism of Christ’s kingdom. Gregory’s missional efforts will be demonstrated to be an outflow of this eschatology in practice. Gregory’s apocalypticism motivates his missions and his triumphalism demonstrates his faith in God’s establishment of his kingdom globally through the work of evangelism.