Methods of early Christian missionary work . ecame thrilled, not only with the call of Christ to goout and witness for him, but were stirred with the storiesof the apostles who had given their lives in this cause. Of all the influential men in the earlyRoman Church, the one who stands out as the best type ofpolitical and religious power, is Gregory the Great. When inthe monastery of St. Andrews he spent hours in the studyof the scriptures. Here he conceived that desire to go tothe heathen people, which was strengthened on seeing theslave hoys from England for sale in the Roman market. Thereand
Methods of early Christian missionary work . ecame thrilled, not only with the call of Christ to goout and witness for him, but were stirred with the storiesof the apostles who had given their lives in this cause. Of all the influential men in the earlyRoman Church, the one who stands out as the best type ofpolitical and religious power, is Gregory the Great. When inthe monastery of St. Andrews he spent hours in the studyof the scriptures. Here he conceived that desire to go tothe heathen people, which was strengthened on seeing theslave hoys from England for sale in the Roman market. Thereand then he decided to go to the British Isles and notonly did he obtain permission from Pope Pelagius II, buthe actually set out on the journey. It was then that theRomans realized the influence which he had in the city,and censured the pope for permitting him to go, and forcedhis recall to *- But the impulse to do missionary workcould not De put down, for, though he returned to Rome, he —oooo— 1. Catholic Encyclopedia, v. 6, -6- returaed determined to use his imluence to promote thecause of missions. When he Decame pope, this opportunitywas afforded him. It is impossible to understand the realsignificance of the work that a man like Gregory coulddo as pope in Rome unless a comparison is made with thework that was carried on elsewhere, where no backing wasobtainable. At this time the Irish Church was doing im-portant missionary work. It was in no way connected withthe Roman Church, but had been started before Rome haduecome strong. Individuals naa scattered throughoutIreland, had gone to Scotland and England, and were soonto cross the channel. Though the influence of the IrishChurch was great, it was in no way strong enough tomaintain its position against the power of Kome. EvenSt. Patrick who went to Ireland as a missionary felt thelack oi power in his work there, and after about thirtyyears of independent labor, he asked to be consecrated abishop of the Roman
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