Saint Grégoire III
pape
(90éme) de 731 à 741 (✝ 741)
Pape, syrien d'origine, il
fut choisi comme évêque de Rome d'une manière unanime par le clergé et le
peuple. Il tenta de ramener à la saine doctrine les iconoclastes de l'empereur
Léon l'Isaurien. Il dut faire appel à Charles Martel pour se dégager du roi des
Lombards Luitprand qui avait assiégé Rome et pillé la basilique de Saint Pierre
au Vatican; c'est ainsi que se nouèrent les premiers liens entre la France et
la papauté.
À Rome, près de saint Pierre, en 761, saint Grégoire III, pape, qui eut le
souci de faire prêcher l’Évangile aux Germains et, pour s’opposer aux
iconoclastes, orna les églises de Rome d’images saintes.
Grégoire III (Saint), 92e pape, installé le 18 mars 731, mort le 27
novembre 741. Il était Syrien de naissance. Suivant le Liber pontificalis,
il aurait été élu sous l'impulsion d'un de ces mouvements soudains qu'on
appelle, en pareille matière, inspirations du Saint-Esprit : saisi par le
peuple et placé par lui sur le siège pontifical, pendant qu'il assistait aux
funérailles de Grégoire II, son
prédécesseur. Il est le dernier des papes pour l'élection desquels on ait
demandé la confirmation de l'exarque de Ravenne, représentant des empereurs
d'Orient.
En 741, Rome fut assiégée. Grégoire implora le secours de Charles-Martel et finit par obtenir de lui une intervention amiable qui décida les Lombards à renoncer à leur attaque contre Rome; mais ils gardèrent quatre villes sur le territoire romain. On a conservé les lettres adressées par Léon à Charles-Martel ; elles font preuve d'une habileté qui fournirait des arguments aux docteurs de la morale indépendante, ayant été composées par le chef de l'Eglise, représentant la cause de saint Pierre. Des historiens sérieux ont écrit que, après deux ambassades qui n'avaient produit que des échanges de compliments et de présents, le pape n'avait obtenu la médiation du duc austrasien qu'en lui promettant de la part des Romains qu'ils répudieraient toute allégance envers Constantinople et qu'ils se placeraient sous le protectorat des Francs, et en lui conférant les titres de patrice et de consul de Rome. Ces assertions sont contestées, principalement sur le dernier point.
Du côté de l'Occident comme du côté de l'Orient, les faits les plus importants du pontificat de Grégoire Ill sont les conséquences des événements commencés sous son prédécesseur. Il continua l'ouvre de Grégoire Il, en donnant à Boniface les directions et le concours nécessaires pour placer sous l'autorité immédiate du siège romain les Eglises formées en Germanie sur les terres conquises par le christianisme.
On rapporte à ce pape l'institution définitive et la fixation au 1er novembre de la fête de la Toussaint.
Il reste de lui des lettres adressées à l'empereur Léon, à Charles-Martel, à saint Boniface et à divers personnages, pour confirmer l'autorité et seconder l'oeuvre de Boniface. On lui attribue aussi une espèce de manuel, à l'usage des confesseurs, sur les péchés et les pénitences : Excerptum ex patrum dictis et canonum sententiis. Le Livre de lettres mentionné dans le Liber pontifipalis n'a pas été retrouvé. (E.-H. Vollet).
SOURCE : http://www.cosmovisions.com/GregoireIII.htm
Pope St. Gregory III
(Reigned 731-741.)
Pope St.
Gregory III was the son of a Syrian named John.
The date of his birth is not known. His reputation
for learning and virtue was so great that
the Romans elected
him pope by acclamation, when he was accompanying the
funeral procession of his predecessor, 11
February, 731. As he was not consecrated for more than a month after his election,
it is presumed that he waited for the confirmation
of his election by the exarch at Ravenna. In the matter
of Iconoclasm,
he followed the policy of his predecessor. He sent legates and letters to remonstrate with the
persecuting emperor, Leo
III, and held two synods in Rome (731) in which the image-breaking heresy was condemned. By way of a
practical protest against the emperor's action
he made it a point of paying special honour to images and relics, giving particular attention to the
subject of St. Peter's.
Fragments of inscriptions, to be seen in
the crypts of
the Vatican basilica,
bear witness to this day of an oratory
he built therein, and of the special prayers he ordered to be there recited.
Leo, whose sole answer to
the arguments and apologies for image worship
which were addressed to him from both East
and West, was force, seized the papal patrimonies in Calabria and Sicily, or wherever he had any power in Italy, and transferred to the patriarch
of Constantinople the ecclesiastical
jurisdiction which
the popes had
previously exercised both there, and throughout the ancient Prefecture
of Illyricum. Gregory III confirmed
the decision of his predecessors as to the respective rights of the Patriarchs
of Aquileia and
Grado, and sent the pallium to Antoninus
of Grado. In granting it also to Egbert of York, he was only following out the
arrangements of St. Gregory I
who had laid it down that York was to have metropolitical
rights in the North of England, as Canterbury
had to have them in the South. Both Tatwine
and Nothelm of Canterbury received the pallium in succession
from Gregory III (731 and 736). At his
request Gregory III extended to St. Boniface the same support and encouragement
which had been afforded him by Gregory II. "Strengthened exceedingly by
the help of the affection of the Apostolic See",
the saint joyfully
continued his glorious work for the conversion
of Germany.
About 737 Boniface
came to Rome for the
third time to give an account of his stewardship, and to enjoy the pope's "life-giving
conversation", At Gregory's order the monk and great traveller, St.
Willibald, went to assist his cousin St. Boniface in his labours.
The close of Gregory's
reign was troubled by the Lombards.
Realizing the ambition
which animated Liutprand, Gregory
completed the restoration of the walls of Rome which had been begun by his
predecessors, and bought back Gallese, a stronghold on the Flaminian Way,
from Transamund, Duke of Spoleto, which helped to keep open the
communications between Rome and Ravenna. In 739, Liutprand
was again in arms. His troops ravaged the exarchate,
and he himself marched south to bring to subjection his vassals, the Dukes of Spoleto and Benevento, and the Duchy of Rome. Transamund
fled to Rome, and Gregory
implored the aid of the great Frankish chief, Charles Martel. At length ambassadors from the
viceroy (subregulus) of the Franks appeared in Rome (739). Their arrival, or the summer
heats, brought a momentary peace. But in the following year, Liutprand
again took the field. This time the Romans
left their walls, and helped Transamund to
recover Spoleto.
When, however, he had recovered his duchy, he would not or could not comply
with Gregory's request, and endeavour to
recover for the pope
"the four cities of the Roman duchy
which had been lost for his sake." In the midst of all these wars and rumours of war, Gregory
died, and was buried in the oratory
of our Lady which he had himself built in St. Peter's. He died in 741, but whether in
November or December is not certain. It is
however, on 28 November that he is commemorated in the Roman
martyrology.
Sources
Sources
Codex
Carolinus in JAFFE, Monumenta Carolina (Berlin, 1867), or in Mon. Germ. Hist.;
Epp., III (Berlin, 1892). See also bibliography of article GREGORY II.
Mann, Horace. "Pope St. Gregory III." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 12 May 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06789a.htm>.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06789a.htm
Pope St. Gregory III
Mann, Horace. "Pope St. Gregory III." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 12 May 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06789a.htm>.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06789a.htm
Pope St. Gregory III
He was just standing there, not doing
anything special. As a Syrian priest he must have felt a little out of place
among the Roman people mourning that day for the dead Pope. As a good preacher,
he must have wanted to speak to the funeral procession about Christ’s promise
of resurrection. As a learned man, he must have wondered who would follow the
holy Saint Gregory II as Pope and where he would take the Church. As a holy
man, he must have been praying for Gregory II and for all the people around him
to find their place after death in God’s arms. But he was just one of the
crowd.
Not to God. And not to the people who recognized
the well-known holy man in their midst. Right in the middle of the funeral
procession they singled him out. They swept him away and clamored for him to be
named the next bishop of Rome. Then suddenly, unexpectedly, without his even
lifting a finger, his whole life changed and he could no longer just stand
there and do nothing.
After he was proclaimed Pope Gregory III, Emperor
Leo II attacked the veneration of holy images. Because Leo II thought the honor
paid to Jesus, Mary, and the saints by keeping statues and icons was idolatry,
he condemned them and wanted them destroyed. Gregory III didn’t just stand
there but immediately sent a letter to Leo II. He couldn’t get the letter
through because the priest-messenger was afraid to deliver it. So instead,
Gregory called a synod that approved strong measures against anyone who would
try to destroy images of Jesus, Mary, or the saints.
Gregory took his stand and Leo II apparently
thought the only way to move him was through physical force. So Leo sent ships
to kidnap Gregory and bring him to Constantinople. Many people in Rome must
have tried to get Gregory to move — but he just stood there. And once again God
intervened. A storm destroyed Leo’s ships. The only thing Leo could do was
capture some of the papal lands.
So Leo got a few acres of land and we kept our
wonderful reminders of the love of God, the protection of Jesus, the prayers of
Mary, and the examples of the saints. All because Gregory knew when to take a
stand — and when to stand there and let God work. St. Gregory III was Pope from
731-741.
Pope Gregory III (RM)
Died December 10, 741. The son of a Syrian named John, he became a priest in
Rome, and his reputation for learning and holiness was so great that he was
acclaimed pope on February 11, 731, while accompanying the funeral cortege of
his predecessor, Saint Gregory II.
He continued Gregory
II's opposition to iconoclasm and convoked two synods in Rome in 731, which
condemned the heresy. In response, Emperor Leo the Iconoclast seized papal
patrimonies in Calabria and Sicily and transferred ecclesiastical jurisdiction
of those two provinces and Illyrium to the patriarch of Constantinople.
Gregory supported
the missionary activities of Saint Boniface in Germany and sent Saint Willibald
to assist him. Gregory completed rebuilding the walls around Rome begun by Gregory
II and sought the assistance of Charles Martel against the attacks of Liutprand
and his Lombards on the exarchate of Ravenna, the dukes of Spoleto and
Benevento, and the duchy of Rome rather than from the Eastern Emperor, an
appeal that was to have far-reaching historical implications for the meddling
of the state in Church affairs, and by establishing a connection with the
Franks. In the midst of this turmoil, Gregory died (Benedictines, Delaney).
Pope Saint Gregory III
- 28 November
- 10 December on some calendars
Profile
Priest at Saint Crisogono Church in Rome, Italy; except that his father‘s name was John, nothing else is known about his life prior
to being elected 90th pope by popular acclamation in 731.
Noted for his learning and virtue. The beginning of his pontificate was troubled by the excesses of the iconoclasts.
He called a synod in November 731
to condemn iconoclasm;
iconoclast
leaders responded by seizing papal territories and assets, and insisting on the ecclestiastical
allegiance to the Patriarch of Constantinople. The end of Gregory’s reign was
troubled by the invasions of the Lombards, against these he sought the help of Charles
Martel, establishing ties with the French crown that would echo for centuries. Gregory promoted the Church in northern Europe, supporting the missions of Saint
Boniface in Germany and Saint
Willibald in Bohemia, bestowed palliums
on Egbert of York and Saint
Tatwine of Canterbury, beautified Rome, and supported monasticism in general.
Born
Papal Ascension
- elected on 11 February 731
- enthroned in March 731
- 28 November 741 of natural causes
ST. GREGORY
III
Feast:
December 10
As the funeral
procession of St. Gregory II moved slowly along, there was a sudden outcry. The
clergy and people shouted that Gregory, a Syrian who was walking with the
Pope's bier, should be the next pope. And they hurried him off without further
ado, and elected him. The man who could arouse such unusual and universal
enthusiasm must have been a striking personality. And indeed the biographer of
Gregory paints him in glowing colors. He was an educated man who knew both
Latin and Greek, polished in style, learned in Holy Scripture, pious, zealous
for the faith, and a lover of the poor.
Consecrated on March 18,
731, Gregory III at once turned his attention to the image-breaking
controversy. To recall Leo the Isaurian to an orthodox state of mind, he sent
him the priest George with letters of warning and instruction. When George
returned from the East, the Pope was surprised to find that the timid legate
had been afraid even to deliver the letters to the fierce Isaurian. Not
unnaturally angry, Gregory was going to degrade George from the priesthood, but
the clergy of a synod held to consider the situation, persuaded the Pope to let
George off with a penance. However, Gregory sent him back to the Emperor. This
time the imperial officials in Sicily seized George and exiled him.
Gregory held another
synod, this time with ninety-three bishops and the clergy and people of Rome.
The council decreed that anyone who should destroy or dishonor holy images
should be excommunicated But the Emperor would not allow the envoys even to
reach him. His answer was to send a fleet to carry out the imperial decrees.
The fleet was shipwrecked, but Leo punished the Italians by raising their taxes
and the Pope by confiscating the estates of the patrimony in Sicily and
Calabria.
The Emperor also
transferred the Church in Calabria, Sicily, and Illyricum from the jurisdiction
of the bishop of Rome as patriarch to the jurisdiction of the patriarch of
Constantinople. This arbitrary act was a remote cause of the unhappy Eastern
Schism. It made the patriarchate of Constantinople practically coterminous with
the Eastern Empire. And in spite of the fact that it had been thus arbitrarily
given to them by a heretical emperor, the patriarchs of Constantinople clung to
their increased jurisdiction.
St. Boniface visited
Pope Gregory III in 737 to receive consolation from him. Gregory asked
Boniface's cousin, the holy monk Willibald, to help in the conversion of the
Germans. The Pope granted the request of Egbert of York that he should be made
archbishop, thus restoring to England the two metropolitan sees planned by
Gregory the Great.
Once more a pope was
troubled by the Lombards. Liutprand, King of the Lombards, strove to break the
Lombard Dukes of Spoleto and Benevento and to overrun all Italy. He ravaged the
exarchate of Ravenna and marched south. The Dukes allied themselves with Pope
Gregory, but nothing could stop Liutprand. Once more the Lombards ravaged Roman
territory. The Pope, at a loss, appealed to Charles Martel, the Frankish
"hammer." Charles sent an embassy to Rome, but no help. Actually he
could do little, for his health was broken.
In the middle of all
this trouble, late in 741, St. Gregory III died. His feast is kept on December
10.
Taken from "Popes Through the Ages" by
Joseph Brusher, S.J.
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