Editing Pope Gregory I (section)

==Apocrisiariate (579–585)==
[[File:Moralia in Job MS dragonslayer.jpg|thumb|upright|Illumination in a 12th-century [[manuscript]] of a letter of Gregory's to [[Leander of Seville|Leander]], [[bishop of Seville]] (Bibl. Municipale, MS 2, [[Dijon]])]]

In 579, Pelagius II chose Gregory as his ''[[apocrisiarius]]'' (ambassador to the imperial court in [[Constantinople]]), a post Gregory would hold until 586.<ref>Ekonomou, 2007, p. 8.</ref> Gregory was part of the Roman delegation (both lay and clerical) that arrived in Constantinople in 578 to ask the emperor for military aid against the [[Lombards]].<ref name="e9">Ekonomou, 2007, p. 9.</ref> With the Byzantine military [[Byzantine–Sassanid War of 572–591|focused on the East]], these entreaties proved unsuccessful; in 584, Pelagius II wrote to Gregory as ''apocrisiarius'', detailing the hardships that Rome was experiencing under the Lombards and asking him to ask [[Emperor Maurice]] to send a relief force.<ref name="e9"/> Maurice, however, had long ago determined to limit his efforts against the Lombards to intrigue and diplomacy, pitting the [[Franks]] against them.<ref name="e9"/> It soon became obvious to Gregory that the Byzantine emperors were unlikely to send such a force, given their more immediate difficulties with the Persians in the East and the [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]] and [[Slavs]] to the North.<ref name="e10">Ekonomou, 2007, p. 10.</ref>

According to Ekonomou, "if Gregory's principal task was to plead Rome's cause before the emperor, there seems to have been little left for him to do once imperial policy toward Italy became evident. Papal representatives who pressed their claims with excessive vigor could quickly become a nuisance and find themselves excluded from the imperial presence altogether".<ref name="e10"/> Gregory had already drawn an imperial rebuke for his lengthy canonical writings on the subject of the legitimacy of [[John III Scholasticus]], who had occupied the Patriarchate of Constantinople for twelve years prior to the return of [[Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople|Eutychius]] (who had been driven out by Justinian).<ref name="e10"/> Gregory turned to cultivating connections with the Byzantine elite of the city, where he became extremely popular with the city's upper class, "especially aristocratic women".<ref name="e10"/> Ekonomou surmises that "while Gregory may have become spiritual father to a large and important segment of Constantinople's aristocracy, this relationship did not significantly advance the interests of Rome before the emperor".<ref name="e10"/> Although the writings of John the Deacon claim that Gregory "labored diligently for the relief of Italy", there is no evidence that his tenure accomplished much towards any of the objectives of Pelagius II.<ref>Ekonomou, 2007, pp. 10–11.</ref>

Gregory's theological disputes with Patriarch Eutychius would leave a "bitter taste for the theological speculation of the East" with Gregory that continued to influence him well into his own papacy.<ref name="e11">Ekonomou, 2007, p. 11.</ref> According to Western sources, Gregory's very public debate with Eutychius culminated in an exchange before [[Tiberius II]] where Gregory cited a biblical passage{{efn|name=Palpate}} in support of the view that Christ was corporeal and palpable after his Resurrection; allegedly as a result of this exchange, Tiberius II ordered Eutychius's writings burned.<ref name="e11"/> Ekonomou views this argument, though exaggerated in Western sources, as Gregory's "one achievement of an otherwise fruitless ''apokrisiariat''".<ref name="e12">Ekonomou, 2007, p. 12.</ref> In reality, Gregory was forced to rely on Scripture because he could not read the untranslated Greek authoritative works.<ref name="e12"/>

Gregory left Constantinople for Rome in 585, returning to his monastery on the [[Caelian Hill]].<ref name="e13">Ekonomou, 2007, p. 13.</ref> Gregory was elected by [[acclamation]] to succeed Pelagius II in 590, when the latter died of the [[Plague (disease)|plague]] spreading through the city.<ref name="e13"/> Gregory was approved by an Imperial ''[[iussio]]'' from Constantinople the following September (as was the norm during the [[Byzantine Papacy]]).<ref name="e13"/>

===Controversy with Eutychius===
In Constantinople, Gregory took issue with the aged [[Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople]], who had recently published a treatise, now lost, on the [[Resurrection of the dead|General Resurrection]]. Eutychius maintained that the resurrected body "will be more subtle than air, and no longer palpable".{{sfn|Smith|Wace|1880|p=415}}{{efn|The dictionary account is apparently based on [[Bede]], Book II, Chapter 1, who used the expression "...impalpable, of finer texture than wind and air."}} Gregory opposed and used the palpability of the risen Christ in Luke 24:39 as evidence.<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|24:39|KJV}}</ref> As the dispute could not be settled, the [[Byzantine emperor]], [[Tiberius II Constantine]], undertook to arbitrate. He decided in favor of palpability and ordered Eutychius' book to be [[book burning|burned]]. Shortly after both Gregory and Eutychius became ill; Gregory recovered, but Eutychius died on 5 April 582, at age 70. On his deathbed Eutychius recanted impalpability and Gregory dropped the matter.