Cloud of Witnesses
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Hierarch6th century

Gregory of Antioch

d. 593

Also known as Patriarch of Antioch

A Patriarch of Antioch remembered for his pastoral leadership of the Church of Antioch.

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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Gregory, Patriarch of Antioch

Life

Gregory was the Chalcedonian Patriarch of Antioch from 571 to 593, a hierarch whose career spanned the monastic communities of the Holy Land and the turbulent ecclesiastical and political life of the late sixth-century Byzantine East. Much of what survives about him is preserved by Evagrius Scholasticus, the Syrian lawyer and historian who served as Gregory's aide and adviser.

Before his elevation he was a monk and abbot in Palestine and at Mount Sinai, and as patriarch he was remembered as a gifted preacher who laboured to reconcile non-Chalcedonian Christians to the definition of the Council of Chalcedon. The Orthodox Church commemorates him on April 20.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide
TroparionTone 4

In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith,
an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence;
your humility exalted you;
your poverty enriched you.
Hierarch Father Gregory,
entreat Christ our God
that our souls may be saved.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline5 momentsReadHide
  1. Before 571Monastic life in Palestine and SinaiGregory began as a monk at the monastery of the Byzantines in Jerusalem. The emperor Justin II transferred him to Mount Sinai, where he served as abbot during a period when the monastery was attacked by Arabs; he also served as abbot of a monastery at Pharan in Palestine.
  2. 571Enthroned Patriarch of AntiochJustin II removed Patriarch Anastasius I from the see of Antioch and enthroned Gregory as his successor.
  3. 578Accusation and acquittalA man named Anatolius accused Gregory of pagan activity and involvement in the night sacrifice of a boy at Daphne. The charge provoked unrest, but Anatolius recanted under torture, and through the intercession of John the Faster, Patriarch of Constantinople, Gregory retained his see.
  4. Before 588Synod at ConstantinopleGregory was summoned to Constantinople over a conflict with the Count of the East and appeared before a synod, accompanied by his attorney Evagrius Scholasticus, where he was acquitted.
  5. 593ReposeGregory died, reportedly after taking a drug intended to relieve gout. Anastasius I resumed the patriarchate as his successor.

Contributions & Legacy

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Patriarchate and Ministry

As patriarch, Gregory was active in the affairs of the eastern frontier during the long Roman war with Persia. He is credited with mediating when Roman troops under the emperor Maurice mutinied, and he met the Persian king Chosroes II when the latter fled to the Romans; afterward he received the cross that had earlier been carried off from Sergiopolis.

He was remembered as a gifted preacher and worked to bring non-Chalcedonian Christians to accept the definition of the Council of Chalcedon. Five of his homilies survive.

Sources

The principal witness to Gregory's life is Evagrius Scholasticus, a Syrian scholar and lawyer who served as the patriarch's aide, drew up his official reports, and accompanied him to Constantinople. Evagrius's Ecclesiastical History, in six books, covers the Church from the First Council of Ephesus down into the reign of Maurice. The monk John Moschus additionally records that Gregory had been abbot of Pharan.

Companions1 figureShowHide
Contemporary patriarch; John IV the Faster of Constantinople interceded for Gregory and helped him retain the see of Antioch after the accusation brought by Anatolius.
John the FasterPatriarch of Constantinople
Related Saints2 saintsShowHide

Saints connected to his life, mission, and place in Orthodox tradition.

Predecessor and successor in the see of Antioch; Gregory was enthroned in 571 after Anastasius I was deposed, and Anastasius resumed the patriarchate following Gregory's death in 593.
Saint Anastasius IPatriarch of Antioch
The hermit of Palestine whom he buried at his monastery, by the Prologue of Ohrid.
Venerable Cosmasthe Eunuch and Hermit of Palestine

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints