Gregory established Western papal authority by exploiting prevailing anarchy and personal ability

Evidence

Before his pontificate, the bishop of Rome, though acknowledged to be the greatest man in the hierarchy, was not regarded as having any jurisdiction outside his own diocese. St Ambrose, for example, who was on the best of terms with the Pope of his day, obviously never regarded himself as in any degree subject to his authority. Gregory, owing partly to his personal qualities and partly to the prevailing anarchy, was able to assert successfully an authority which was admitted by ecclesiastics throughout the West, and even, to a lesser degree, in the East. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1499

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1499
• XREF: connects to: Popes achieved supremacy because no Western monarch matched Byzantine imperial power. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1520

Broader Connections

• Popes achieved supremacy because no Western monarch matched Byzantine imperial power. #corroborates (0.55) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1520