Pope Gregory I (pope from 590 to 604), the first Pope to use this title extensively to refer to himself, deployed it as a lesson in humility for the archbishop of Constantinople
John the Faster (in office 582–595), who had been granted the traditional title "
Ecumenical Patriarch" by a Council convened in Constantinople in 587. Gregory reportedly reacted negatively to the Patriarch's title, claiming that "whoever calls himself universal bishop [the imprecise
Latin translation of "Ecumenical Patriarch"], or desires this title, is, by his pride, the precursor to the
Antichrist." ==References==