Editing Pope Gregory II (section)

==First years and expanding missionary activity==
Almost immediately, Gregory began the task of repairing Rome's [[Aurelian Walls]], beginning at the [[Porta Tiburtina]].<ref name="m145"/> Work on this task was delayed in October 716 when the river [[Tiber]] burst its banks and flooded Rome, causing immense damage and only receding after eight days.<ref name="m145"/> Gregory ordered a number of litanies to be said to stem the floods, which spread over the [[Campus Martius]] and the so-called Plains of Nero, reaching the foot of the [[Capitoline Hill]].<ref>Mann, pgs. 146–147</ref> The first year of his pontificate also saw a letter arrive from Patriarch [[John VI of Constantinople]], who attempted to justify his support of [[Monothelitism]], while at the same time seeking sympathy from the pope over the position he was in, with respect to the emperor. Gregory responded by sending a letter outlining the traditional Roman position against Monothelitism.<ref>Mann, pgs. 147–148</ref>

Then in 716, Gregory received an official visit from Duke [[Theodo of Bavaria]] to discuss the continuing conversion of his lands to Christianity. As a result of this meeting, Gregory gave specific instructions to his delegates who were to travel to Bavaria, coordinate with the duke, and establish a local church hierarchy, overseen by an [[archbishop]].<ref>Mann, pg. 151</ref> Gregory maintained an interest in Bavaria; in 726 he forced an unwilling [[Corbinian]], after reviewing his appeal through a [[synod]], to abandon his monastic calling, and become [[bishop of Freising]] in upper [[Bavaria]].<ref>Mann, pgs. 153–154</ref>

Gregory next turned his attention to Germany. In 718, he was approached by an [[Anglo-Saxon]] [[missionary]], [[Winfrid]], who proposed undertaking missionary work in Germany.<ref>Levillain, pg. 643</ref> Gregory agreed, and after changing his name to Boniface, commissioned him in May 719 to preach in Germany.<ref name="ce"/> After hearing of the work that had been done so far, in 722 Gregory summoned Boniface back to Rome to answer rumors concerning Boniface’s doctrinal purity.<ref>Mann, pgs. 157–158</ref> At this face-to-face meeting, Boniface complained that he found Gregory’s [[Latin]] difficult to understand, a clear indication that [[Vulgar Latin]] had already started to evolve into the [[Romance languages]].<ref>Mann, pg. 158</ref> After examining Boniface’s written profession of faith, Gregory was satisfied enough that he made Boniface a bishop in November 722, and returned him to Germany to continue his mission.<ref name="ce"/> Continued successes saw Gregory write to Boniface in December 724 to offer his congratulations, followed in November 726 by a response to Boniface’s questions about how to structure the newly emergent churches in Germany.<ref>Mann, pgs. 161–162</ref>

Gregory also strengthened papal authority in the churches of [[Great Britain|Britain]] and [[Ireland]]. In 726 Gregory was visited by [[Ine of Wessex|Ine]], the former [[King of Wessex]], who had abdicated the throne in order to undertake a pilgrimage to Rome and end his life there.<ref>Mann, pg. 150</ref>