Who was Gregory the Great?
Gregory the Great (ca. 540 - 604): Adapting Pagan practices to win Pagan hearts. A man of undoubted personal piety who gave tirelessly of himself, calling his own position, as Pope, nothing more nor less than “the Servant of the Servants of God,” Gregory ministered to his people in many striking and effective ways (see his wisdom on pastoral care). Just one example: soon after launching a monk named Augustine and a team on an evangelistic mission to England, Gregory found himself answering their agonized letters: What do we do about all the Pagan practices and holidays we’re running across? Gregory counseled “selective appropriation”—that is, the radical, humanly sensitive practice of giving a cultural make-over to beliefs and practices sanctioned by long tradition.
