The image of St. Gregory the Great in the ‘Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum’ by the Venerable Bede

Abstract

The article analyzes the image of St. Gregory the Great, created by the Northumbrian monk Bede the Venerable (672–735) in his work ‘Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum’. Mentioning the diplomatic, pastoral, literary, educational activities of the saint, Bede emphasizes his spiritual and moral qualities and asceticism, as well as the perception of monasticism as a path to the deification of man. The pastoral concerns of the saint are presented by Bede as a special kind of church obedience, combined with deep humility and prayer. It also seems significant to Bede that the saint refuted heretical views that obscure the Image of God. St. Gregory appears in Bede’s work as a ‘good shepherd’ who converted the pagan people of the Angles to Christ and became a genuine apostle for them. When creating the image of St. Gregory, Bede turns both to the techniques of classical rhetoric and to biblical quotations and allusions.