The Biblical Exegesis of Pope St. Gregory the Great

Pope St. Gregory the Great stands as a towering figure in the development of Western biblical exegesis, his legacy intertwined with both the spiritual renewal of the early medieval Church and the preservation of classical Christian thought in the post-Roman world. Born around 540 AD into a noble Roman family, Gregory witnessed firsthand the decline of the Western Roman Empire, the devastation wrought by barbarian incursions, and the cultural disarray of his age. Despite this turbulent backdrop, his life and writings reflect an enduring commitment to maintaining the intellectual and spiritual riches of Christian tradition. His exegetical works, most notably the Moralia in Job, Homilies on Ezekiel, and Homilies on the Gospels, illuminate his profound ability to draw out the moral, spiritual, and eschatological depths of Scripture for his contemporaries. This introduction explores the historical and theological foundations of Gregory's exegesis, his reliance on patristic predecessors, and the distinctive interpretative methods that earned him the title "Doctor of the Church."