Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 7.djvu/32

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GREGORY


10


GREGORY


among the works of St. Ambrose (Migne, P. L., XVII, 549-568) and of Vigilius of Thapsus (Migne, P. L., LXI I, 466-468; 449-463). The same may be said of the first seven of the twelve books " De Trinitate ", the authorship of which has been ascribed to Vigilius of Thapsus (Migne, P. L., LXII, 237-334). A few in- quiring commentators have also souglit to prove that Gregory Bseticus was the writer of the tractatus " De Libris Sacrarum Scripturarum", pulilished by Batif- fol (Paris, 1900) as the work of Origen. But so far it has been impossiljle to ascertain positively the author- ship in question. There is preserved a letter to him from Eusebius of Vercelli (Migne, P. L., X, 713). As St. Jerome, in his "De Viris Illustribus", written in 392, does not mention Gregory as being dead, the sup- position is that the latter was still living at the time. He must, however, have been then a very old man and cannot in any event have long survived the year 392. He is venerated in Spain as a saint, his feast being celebrated on 24 .'ipril.

Florio, De Sancto Gregorio Jlliheritano, libelli de Fide auc- lore (Bologna, 1789); MoRlN, Les Nouveauz Tractatus Origenis et Vhi'Titage litteraire de Vh^rque espaffnol, Grcqoire d' Illiberis in Rrriie d'histnire et de Utteratiire relig. (1900, V, 145 sq.); Bar- DEXHEWER, Patrolngie, tr. Shahan (.St. Louis. 190S). 41.^; Gams, Kirchengesrh-khte von Spanien (Ratisbon, 1864), II, 2.56 .sq.; Kriger, Lucifer. Bischof von Calaris, vnd das Schisma der Luriferianer (Leipzig. 1.S86). 76 sq. ; Leclerq. VEspagne chretienne (Paris, 1906), 130 sq.

J. P. KiRSCH.

Gregory of Heimburg, humanist and statesman, b. at ^V^u■zl3urg in the beginning of the fifteenth cen- tury; d. at Tharandt near Dresden, August, 1472. About 1430 he received the degree of Doctor of Both Laws at the University of Padua. Filled with the prevalent ideas of reform, this ardent and eloquent jurist was naturally attracted to the Council of Basle, convened, according to the assemliled prelates, for " the extirpation of heresy, and of the Greek schism . . . and for the reformation of the Church in her Head and members ". While at the council he became the secretary of iEneas Sylvius. He left Basle in 1433, when he was elected syndic of Nuremberg, in which capacity he served until 1461. After the election of Albert II of Austria, he was sent, with John of Lj'sura, to the Council of Basle to demand that the proceedings against the pope be suspended, and then to Eugene IV at Ferrara to propose that the nego- tiations with the Greeks be carried on in a German city. In 1446 he was again placed at the head of an embassy to Eugene IV. The pope had deposed the Arch- bishops of Cologne and Trier, both electoral princes, who favoured the antipope Felix V. The other elec- tors now demanded of Eugene (1) his approval of certain decrees of Basle; (2) the convocation of a general council in a German city within three months; (3) the acceptance of the article on the superiority of the council over the pope; and (4) the reinstating of the two deposed archbishops. But Gregory's nais- sion was unsuccessful. On the advice of Frederick III the pope sent Cardinals Tommaso de Sarzana and Carvajal, with Nicholas of Cusa, as legates to the Diet of Frankfort, 14 Sept., 1446. With them was ^Eneas Sylvius, now the private secretary of Frederick III. Some of the electors were won over to the cause of the pope; a new embas.sy was organized; and in February, 1447, shortly before the death of Eugene, the four Bulls constituting the Concordat of the Princes were promulgated. In Feb., 1448, a com- plete agreement was reached in the Concordat of Vienna, concluded between Frederick III and Nich- olas V. Gregory, who had considered even the declaration of neutrality an ignoble concession, was disappointed at this turn of events and decided to abandon ecclesiastical politics. During the nego- tiations between the pope and the electors there appeared the anonj-mous " .\dmonitio de injustis usurpationibus paparum " or, as Flacius entitles it,


"Confutatio primatus papae", which is generally ascribed to Gregory.

In 1458 Gregory entered the service of Albert of Austria and his opposition to papal authority was again aroused, ^neas Sylvius had ascended the papal throne as Pius II the same year, and soon afterwards (1459) summoned the princes of Chris- tendom to Mantua to plan a crusade against the Turks. Gregory was present as the representative of Bavaria- Landshut, Kurmainz, and the Archduke Albert of Austria. The failure of the project was partly due to his influence. Sigismund of Austria, on his return from the Congress of Mantua, imprisoned Nicholas of Cusa, Bishop of Brixen, with whom he was quarrelling over certain fiefs. He was excommunicated 1 June, 1460, and through Gregory of Heimburg appealed to a general council. Gregory went to Rome, but to no avail, and on his return journey posted the duke's appeal on the doors of the cathedral of Florence. The pope then excommunicated him and ordered the Council of Nuremberg to confiscate his property (IS October, 1460). Gregory answered in January, 1461, with an appeal to a general council. Pius II renewed the excorrunvmication and commissioned Bishop Lelio of Feltre to reply to Gregory's appeal. The " Replica Theodori La?hi episcopi Feltrensis pro Pio Papa II et sede Romana" brought forth from Gregory his " Apologia contra detractationes et blasphemias Theodori La-lii", together with his "De potestate ecclesiae Romana; ". in which he defended the theories of Basle. His next important writing, "In- vectiva in Nicolaum de Cusa", appeared in 1461. Shortly before the death of Pius II in 1464, Sigismund made his peace with the Church, but Gregory was not absolved. In 1466 he was taken into the service of George Podiebrad, King of Bohemia, and exercised a great influence on the Bohemian king's anti-Roman policy. In two apologies for Podielirad Gregory vio- lently attacked Pope Paul II, whom he charged with immorality. He was again excommunicated and his property at Dettelbach confiscated. After the death of Podiebrad (22 March, 1471) Gregory took refuge in Saxony. Writing to the Council of Wiirzliurg as early as 22 January, 1471, he said he was never ac- cused of having erred in one article of Christian faith. He applied by letter to Sixtus IV, who gave the Bishop of Meissen full power to absolve him. He was buried in the Kreuzkirche at Dresden. His writings were published at Frankfort in 1608 under the title "Scripta nervosa justitiaque plena ex manu- scriptis nunc primum eruta ". They may be found in Goldast, "Monarchia", in Freher, "Scriptores rerum Germanicarum", and in Joachimsohn (see below).

Brockhaus. Grcgor mn Heimburg (Leipzig, 1.S61); .Ioachim- SOHN, Gregor Heimburg (B.iniborg. 1891); Pastor, Tlie Histori/ of the Popes, tr. Antkubus (2nil ecL. St. Louis, 1902). IV; Stam- MINGER in Kirchenlex ., s. v. Heimburg; Tschackert in Re^l- encyck, fur. prat. TheoL, s. v. Gregor von Heimburg: Knopfler in Kirchliches Handlex., s. v. Heimburg.

Leo a. Kelly.

Gregory of Nazianzus, Saint, b. at Arianzus, in Asia Minor, c. 325; d. at the same place, c. 389. He was son — one of three children — of Gregory, Bishop of Nazianzus (329-374), in the south-west of Cappadocia, and of Nonna, a daughter of Christian parents. The saint's father was originally a rnernber of the heretical sect of the Hj-psistarii, or Hypsistiani, and was converted to Catholicity by the influence of his pious wife. His two sons, who seem to have been born between the dates of their father's priestly ordination and episcopal consecration, were sent to a famous school at Ciesarea, capitid of Capjiadocia, and educated by Carterius, probably the same who was afterwards tutor of St. John Chrj-sostom. Here com- menced the friendship between Basil and Gregory which intimately affected both their lives, as well as the development of the theology of their age. From