Iconography of Gregory the Great, his election in 590 and the name Dvoeslov

Saint Gregory, Gregory the Great or Gregory the Dialogist, is usually depicted with a dove hovering at the level of his ear, symbolising the Holy Spirit. Gregory was elected Pope in 590, at the height of an epidemic of plague, which is believed to have ceased when he entered the city at the head of a penitential procession. Interestingly, the name Dvoeslov ("the Two-Worder"), familiar to the Orthodox, is nothing other than a literal translation of the word "dialogue": the Dialogues was one of the principal works of Gregory, known above all as a teacher of the Church.