The Pastor as Administrator

Following Chrysostom, over the next several decades a high view of the priesthood would continue to develop in the work of Ambrose and Augustine. Priests were called to separate themselves from the world. They were not to participate in affairs of state, in business, or in the military. They were to remain firmly rooted in the heavenly realm. With the rise of the Middle Ages however, all this would change. While the priesthood was still held in high regard, responsibilities shifted towards more administrative duties. The barbarian invasions threw the entire world into chaos, including the church. The church was forced to become self-sustaining financially and so became involved in business and land management. The church gained significant material resources and power. Priests began to serve as civic leaders involved in government and the caring for the material needs of the people. When regional governments did not have power, the Pope was often able to step in and provide order.
Gregory the Great’s work The Pastoral Rule reflects the changing responsibilities of the priesthood and the concern for order. His work draws on the rule of St. Benedict that structured the life of monastic communities at the time. He concern was for order and balance in the pastoral office. In particular, he was concerned that priests were becoming overwhelmed with civic duties and losing sight of their roles as spiritual leaders. He recognized the difficulties and challenges inherent in the work of the priest, including the temptation to focus on immediate and pressing needs among the people. He called priests to the practice of consideratio, an attempt to balance body and soul through reason and reflection. Priests were to attend to their own spiritual lives, balancing contemplation and action. They were to attend to the material and spiritual needs of the people. For Gregory, the priest was to be a neighbor of all in compassion, but to remain exalted above all others in thought.
While balance is a central theme in his work, a majority of the text focuses on issues of pastoral care. In particular, The Pastoral Rule calls priests to care for each parishioner individually providing care that fits their station, their character, and their immediate emotional state. He provides specific unique instructions for the care of men, women, slaves, masters, rich, poor, those in mourning, those rejoicing, those remorsely, and those unpenitent. He presents dozens of case studies and the appropriate response. His focus is on attending to the spiritual needs of the people and he may be accused of overspiritualizing pastoral care. This is in part due to the worldview of the day with its emphasis on the supernatural as a real and present reality in the day-to-day workings of the world. It may also have to do with his focus on calling pastors who were consumed by material needs back to the care of souls.
Gregory’s work was considered one of the seminal texts on pastoral leadership for almost 1,000 years. There would be significant debates in ecclesiology with the Great Schism in the 11th century and the development of the Eastern Orthodox Church, yet the high view of the priesthood and the central role of the Eucharist remained. Many consider the work of Martin Luther in the 16th century as the next major shift in pastoral theology. The next entry will look at two of his texts, “Concerning the Ministry” and “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church.”