Gregorios 7 was pope Gregory III. He was a native of Syria and son of Ioannes 225: Lib. Pont. 92. 1. His character is described at Lib. Pont. 93. 1 in terms largely identical with the description in Lib. Pont. 82. 1 of pope Leo II (Leo 16). He was very gentle and wise ("vir mitissimus et valde sapiens"); he was well trained in the Scriptures, learned in Greek and Latin, and knew all the Psalms by heart and could interpret them profoundly ("in divinis Scripturis sufficienter instructus, greca latinaque lingua eruditus, psalmos omnes per ordinem memoriter retinens et in eorum sensibus subtilissima exercitatione limatus"); he read smoothly ("lingua quoque in lectione polita"); he preached and taught eloquently and was a staunch defender of the traditional catholic faith; charitable towards the poor, he ransomed captives and helped orphans and widows.

Gregorios 7 became a priest and was selected to become bishop of Rome while attending the funeral of his predecessor, pope Gregory II (Gregorios 72): Lib. Pont. 92. 1. He became bishop of Rome in succession to Gregory II (Gregorios 72) on 18 March 731, and held the see for ten years, eight months and twenty-four days: Lib. Pont. 92. 1. He wrote several times to the emperors Leo III (Leo 3) and his son Constantine V (Konstantinos 7) opposing their iconoclast policies and held a council at Rome (in c. 732) which also condemned iconoclasm: Lib. Pont. 92. 2-4 (cf. Petros 68, Georgios 126 and Konstantinos 137). The date was set for 1 November 732, in a letter written by Gregorios 7 to the archbishop of Grado, Antoninus (Antoninos 2): Gregory III, Ep. (PG 89. 586) ("kalendas Novembris succedentis quintae decimae indictioni"). He sent envoys (Anastasios 36 and Sergios 50) to Charles Martel (Karoulos 2) for help when the Lombards under Liutprand 1 attacked Rome and Campania: Lib. Pont. 92. 14 (later recension only), 94. 15. He conferred the pallium on the archbishop of Vienne, Wilchar 1: Lib. Pont. 92. 18 (later recension only). He ended a dispute with the dux of Spoletium, Trasimund 1, over the fort of Gallense by paying Trasimund 1 to abandon his claims and incorporating Gallense in the ducatus of Rome: Lib. Pont. 92. 15. In 739 Gregorios 7 and the dux Stephanos 77 refused to surrender Trasimund 1 to Liutprand 1 when Trasimund 1 fled to Rome for refuge, even though Liutprand 1 laid siege to Rome: Lib. Pont. 93. 2. Gregorios 7 died (in 741) when Liutprand 1 again threatened war against Rome, and was succeeded by Zacharias 16 as bishop of Rome: Lib. Pont. 93. 4.

Gregorios 7 set up in St Peter's and decorated with icons and silver adornments six twisted columns of onyx, a gift from the exarch Eutychios 4: Lib. Pont. 92. 5. He built an oratory in St Peter's and furnished it with relics of apostles and saints, for whom he established feast days and masses, adding words to the Canon of the Mass and recording his acts in an inscription in the oratory; he also built a pergola in the oratory and presented gifts including crosses, patens and chalices, of which the list survives: Lib. Pont. 92. 6-7. He added decorations to the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore and repaired and made gifts (all listed) to the Church of St Chrysogonus, including crowns, a paten and a chalice: Lib. Pont. 92. 8. He built a monastery of SS Stephen, Lawrence and Chrysogonus next to the Church of St Chrysogonus and endowed it with estates for its support: Lib. Pont. 92. 9. Among the monks whom he installed in the monastery of Chrysogonus was the future pope Stephen IV (III) (Stephanos 84): Lib. Pont. 96. 1. Gregorios 7 restored and re-endowed a monastery of St John the Evangelist, St John the Baptist and St Pancratius next to the Lateran palace: Lib. Pont. 92. 10. He repaired the basilica of St Andrew at St Peter's, gave it a golden image of Andrew and decorated the confessional; he also repaired the basilicas of St Callistus and of SS Processus and Martinianus and gave them gifts: Lib. Pont. 92. 11. He restored the church of the martyr Genesius, the basilica of St Maria ad Martyres and the basilica of St Maria in Acyro: Lib. Pont. 92. 12. He also carried out restoration work on the diaconia of SS Sergius and Bacchus at St Peter's, established a statio in the cemetery of St Petronilla, repaired chambers (accubita) at St Peter's, repaired the basilica of St Mark on the Via Appia, the churches of St Paul and of Santa Maria Maggiore and of St Marcellinus and St Petrus near the Lateran and also the cemeteries of the martyrs Ianuarius, Urbanus, Tiburtius, Valerianus and Maximus: Lib. Pont. 92. 13. Under him a large part of the walls of Rome were repaired: Lib. Pont. 92. 15. He furnished altar cloths to a number of churches, including the Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore, St Peter's, St Paul's and St Andrew's, and he rebuilt the walls of Centumcellae: Lib. Pont. 92. 16.

Gregorios 7 was buried in St Peter's on 28 November 741 (indiction ten): Lib. Pont. 92. 18.

Gregorios 7 was bishop of Rome for nine years (Ῥώμης ἐπίσκοπος Γρηγόριος ἔτη θ', also Γρηγόριος, ὁ πάπας Ῥώης: Theoph. AM 6217); when the emperor Leo III (Leo 3) gave his support to iconoclasm, Gregorios 7 tried to withhold the taxes due from Italy and Rome and wrote to Leo 3 opposing the emperor's right to define matters of faith and to change traditional church teachings which had been agreed by the Fathers: Theoph. AM 6217. This account is given by Theophanes under the year 725. At that date the pope was Gregory II (Gregorios 72; AD 715-731)). Gregory III (Gregorios 7) was pope from 731 to 741, and he was succeeded by pope Zacharias 16 in 741. Theophanes places the accession of Zacharias 16 in AM 6226, suggesting that the pope whose accession he gives under AM 6217 was Gregory III (Gregorios 7) rather than Gregory II (Gregorios 72). Gregorios 7 is the first pope registered by Theophanes in the chronological lists at the start of each annal since Benedict I (AD 575-579). However the opposition to Leo 3 was the act of Gregory II (Gregorios 72), who wrote to Leo 3 opposing iconoclasm in 726 (see below). Theophanes has confused the two men. In 730 the bishop of Rome Gregorios 72 opposed Leo 3's policy and withdrew the states of the West from the emperor's authority; he also wrote letters to Leo 3 rebuking him for his policies: Theoph. AM 6221 (ἐν δὲ τῇ πρεσβυτέρᾳ Ῥώμῃ Γρηγόριος, ὁ πανίερος ἀποστολικὸς ἄνηρ καὶ Πέτρου τοῦ κορυφαίου σύνθρονος, λόγῳ καὶ πράξει διαλάμπων, ὃς ἀπέστησε Ῥώμην τε καὶ Ἰταλίαν καὶ πάντα τὰ ἑσπέρια τῆς τε πολιτικῆς καὶ ἐκκλησιαστικῆς ὑπακοῆς Λέοντος καὶ τῆς ὑπ'αὐτὸν βασιλείας), Zon. XV 4. 1-8, 13. 16 (he withdrew from communion with the patriarch of Constantinople and the other iconoclasts, excommunicated them and the emperor, and withheld revenues; he also made a treaty with the Franks). The breach with Constantinople took place under pope Gregory III (Gregorios 7); Theophanes has therefore entered the information at too early a date. However pope Gregory II (Gregorios 72) was the author of letters sent to Leo 3 attacking his iconoclast policy; cf. Ostrogorsky, History, p.151, n. 5.

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