
440 AD to 461
AD

Place and date of birth unknown; died 10 November, 461. Leo's
pontificate, next to that of St. Gregory I, is the most
significant and important in Christian antiquity. At a time when the
Church was experiencing the greatest obstacles to her progress in
consequence of the hastening disintegration of the Western Empire,
while the Orient was profoundly agitated over dogmatic
controversies, this great pope, with far-seeing sagacity and
powerful hand, guided the destiny of the Roman and Universal Church.
According to the "Liber Pontificalis" (ed. Mommsen, I, 101 sqq., ed.
Duchesne, I, 238 sqq.), Leo was a native of Tuscany and his father's
name was Quintianus. Our earliest certain historical information
about Leo reveals him a deacon of the Roman Church under Pope
Celestine I (422-32). Even during this period he was known outside
of Rome, and had some relations with Gaul, since Cassianus in 430 or
431 wrote at Leo's suggestion his work "De Incarnatione Domini
contra Nestorium" (Migne, P.L., L, 9 sqq.), prefacing it with a
letter of dedication to Leo. About this time Cyril of Alexandria
appealed to Rome against the pretensions of Bishop Juvenal of
Jerusalem. From an assertion of Leo's in a letter of later date (ep.
cxvi, ed. Ballerini, I, 1212; II, 1528), it is not very clear
whether Cyril wrote to him in the capacity of Roman deacon, or to
Pope Celestine. During the pontificate of Sixtus III (422-40), Leo
was sent to Gaul by Emperor Valentinian III to settle a dispute and
bring about a reconciliation between Aëtius, the chief military
commander of the province, and the chief magistrate, Albinus. This
commission is a proof of the great confidence placed in the clever
and able deacon by the Imperial Court. Sixtus III died on 19 August,
440, while Leo was in Gaul, and the latter was chosen his successor.
Returning to Rome, Leo was consecrated on 29 September of the same
year, and governed the Roman Church for the next twenty-one years.
Leo's chief aim was to sustain the unity of the Church. Not long
after his elevation to the Chair of Peter, he saw himself compelled
to combat energetically the heresies which seriously threatened
church unity even in the West. Leo had ascertained through Bishop
Septimus of Altinum, that in Aquileia priests, deacons, and clerics,
who had been adherents of Pelagius, were admitted to communion
without an explicit abjuration of their heresy. The pope sharply
censured this procedure, and directed that a provincial synod should
be assembled in Aquileia, at which such persons were to be required
to abjure Pelagianism publicly and to subscribe to an unequivocal
confession of Faith (epp. i and ii). This zealous pastor waged war
even more strenuously against Manichæism, inasmuch as its adherents,
who had been driven from Africa by the Vandals, had settled in Rome,
and had succeeded in establishing a secret Manichæan community
there. The pope ordered the faithful to point out these heretics to
the priests, and in 443, together with the senators and presbyters,
conducted in person an investigation, in the course of which the
leaders of the community were examined. In several sermons he
emphatically warned the Christians of Rome to be on their guard
against this reprehensible heresy, and repeatedly charged them to
give information about its followers, their dwellings,
acquaintances, and rendezvous (Sermo ix, 4, xvi, 4; xxiv, 4; xxxiv,
4 sq.; xlii, 4 sq.; lxxvi, 6). A number of Manichæans in Rome were
converted and admitted to confession; others, who remained obdurate,
were in obedience to imperial decrees banished from Rome by the
civil magistrates. On 30 January, 444, the pope sent a letter to all
the bishops of Italy, to which he appended the documents containing
his proceedings against the Manichæans in Rome, and warned them to
be on their guard and to take action against the followers of the
sect (ep. vii). On 19 June, 445, Emperor Valentinian III issued,
doubtless at the pope's instigation, a stern edict in which he
estasblished seven punishments for the Manichæans ("Epist. Leonis",
ed. Ballerini, I, 626; ep. viii inter Leon. ep). Prosper of
Aquitaine states in his "Chronicle" (ad an. 447; "Mon. Germ. hist.
Auct. antiquissimi", IX, I, 341 sqq.) that, in consequence of Leo's
energetic measures, the Manichæans were also driven out of the
provinces, and even Oriental bishops emulated the pope's example in
regard to this sect. In Spain the heresy of Priscillianism still
survived, and for some time had been attracting fresh adherents.
Bishop Turibius of Astorga became cognizant of this, and by
extensive journeys collected minute information about the condition
of the churches and the spread of Priscillianism. He compiled the
errors of the heresy, wrote a refutation of the same, and sent these
documents to several African bishops. He also sent a copy to the
pope, whereupon the latter sent a lengthy letter to Turibius (ep.
xv) in refutation of the errors of the Priscillianists. Leo at the
same time ordered that a council of bishops belonging to the
neighbouring provinces should be convened to institute a rigid
enquiry, with the object of determining whether any of the bishops
had become tainted with the poison of this heresy. Should any such
be discovered, they were to be excommunicated without hesitation.
The pope also addressed a similar letter to the bishops of the
Spanish provinces, notifying them that a universal synod of all the
chief pastors was to be summoned; if this should be found to be
impossible, the bishops of Galicia at least should be assembled.
These two synods were in fact held in Spain to deal with the points
at issue "Hefele, "Konziliengesch." II, 2nd ed., pp. 306 sqq.).
The greatly disorganized ecclesiastical condition of certain
countries, resulting from national migrations, demanded closer bonds
between their episcopate and Rome for the better promotion of
ecclesiastical life. Leo, with this object in view, determined to
make use of the papal vicariate of the bishops of Arles for the
province of Gaul for the creation of a centre for the Gallican
episcopate in immediate union with Rome. In the beginning his
efforts were greatly hampered by his conflict with St. Hilary, then
Bishop of Arles. Even earlier, conflicts had arisen relative to the
vicariate of the bishops of Arles and its privileges. Hilary made
excessive use of his authority over other ecclesiastical provinces,
and claimed that all bishops should be consecrated by him, instead
of by their own metropolitan. When, for example, the complaint was
raised that Bishop Celidonius of Besançon had been consecrated in
violation of the canons–the grounds alleged being that he had, as a
layman, married a widow, and, as a public officer, had given his
consent to a death sentence–Hilary deposed him, and consecrated
Importunus as his successor. Celidonius thereupon appealed to the
pope and set out in person for Rome. About the same time Hilary, as
if the see concerned had been vacant, consecrated another bishop to
take the place of a certain Bishop Projectus, who was ill. Projectus
recovered, however, and he too laid a complaint at Rome about the
action of the Bishop of Arles. Hilary then went himself to Rome to
justify his proceedings. The pope assembled a Roman synod (about
445) and, when the complaints brought against Celidonius could not
be verified, reinstated the latter in his see. Projectus also
received his bishopric again. Hilary returned to Arles before the
synod was over; the pope deprived him of jurisdiction over the other
Gallic provinces and of metropolitan rights over the province of
Vienne, only allowing him to retain his Diocese of Arles.
These decisions were disclosed by Leo in a letter to the bishops
of the Province of Vienne (ep. x). At the same time he sent them an
edict of Valentinian III of 8 July, 445, in which the pope's
measures in regard to St. Hilary were supported, and the primacy of
the Bishop of Rome over the whole Church solemnly recognized "Epist.
Leonis," ed. Ballerini, I, 642). On his return to his bishopric
Hilary sought a reconciliation with the pope. After this there arose
no further difficulties between these two saintly men and, after his
death in 449, Hilary was declared by Leo as "beatæ memoriæ". To
Bishop Ravennius, St. Hilary's successor in the see of Arles, and
the bishops of that province, Leo addressed most cordial letters in
449 on the election of the new metropolitan (epp. xl, xli). When
Ravennius consecrated a little later a new bishop to take the place
of the deceased Bishop of Vaison, the Archbishop of Vienne, who was
then in Rome, took exception to this action. The bishops of the
province of Arles then wrote a joint letter to the pope, in which
they begged him to restore to Ravennius the rights of which his
predecessor Hilary had been deprived (ep. lxv inter ep. Leonis). In
his reply dated 5 May, 450 (ep. lxvi), Leo acceded to their request.
The Archbishop of Vienne was to retain only the suffragan Bishoprics
of Valence, Tarentaise, Geneva, and Grenoble; all the other sees in
the Province of Vienne were made subject to the Archbishop of Arles,
who also became again the mediator between the Holy See and the
whole Gallic episcopate. Leo transmitted to Ravennius (ep. lxvii),
for communication to the other Gallican bishops, his celebrated
letter to Flavian of Constantinople on the Incarnation. Ravennius
thereupon convened a synod, at which forty-four chief pastors
assembled. In their synodal letter of 451, they affirm that they
accept the pope's letter as a symbol of faith (ep. xxix inter ep.
Leonis). In his answer Leo speaks further of the condemnation of
Nestorius (ep. cii). The Vicariate of Arles for a long time retained
the position Leo had accorded it. Another papal vicariate was that
of the bishops of Thessalonica, whose jurisdiction extended over
Illyria. The special duty of this vicariate was to protect the
rights of the Holy See over the district of Eastern Illyria, which
belonged to the Eastern Empire. Leo bestowed the vicariate upon
Bishop Anastasius of Thessalonica, just as Pope Siricius had
formerly entrusted it to Bishop Anysius. The vicar was to consecrate
the metropolitans, to assemble in a synod all bishops of the
Province of Eastern Illyria, to oversee their administration of
their office; but the most important matters were to be submitted to
Rome (epp. v, vi, xiii). But Anastasius of Thessalonica used his
authority in an arbitrary and despotic manner, so much so that he
was severely reproved by Leo, who sent him fuller directions for the
exercise of his office (ep. xiv).
In Leo's conception of his duties as supreme pastor, the
maintenance of strict ecclesiastical discipline occupied a prominent
place. This was particularly important at a time when the continual
ravages of the barbarians were introducing disorder into all
conditions of life, and the rules of morality were being seriously
violated. Leo used his utmost energy in maintining this discipline,
insisted on the exact observance of the ecclesiastical precepts, and
did not hesitate to rebuke when necessary. Letters (ep. xvii)
relative to these and other matters were sent to the different
bishops of the Western Empire–e.g., to the bishops of the Italian
provinces (epp. iv, xix, clxvi, clxviii), and to those of Sicily,
who had tolerated deviations from the Roman Liturgy in the
administration of Baptism (ep. xvi), and concerning other matters
(ep. xvii). A very important disciplinary decree was sent to bishop
Rusticus of Narbonne (ep. clxvii). Owing to the dominion of the
Vandals in Latin North Africa, the position of the Church there had
become extremely gloomy. Leo sent the Roman priest Potentius thither
to inform himself about the exact condition, and to forward a report
to Rome. On receiving this Leo sent a letter of detailed
instructions to the episcopate of the province about the adjustment
of numerous ecclesiastical and disciplinary questions (ep. xii). Leo
also sent a letter to Dioscurus of Alexandria on 21 July, 445,
urging him to the strict observance of the canons and discipline of
the Roman Church (ep. ix). The primacy of the Roman Church was thus
manifested under this pope in the most various and distinct ways.
But it was especially in his interposition in the confusion of the
Christological quarrels, which then so profoundly agitated Eastern
Christendom, that Leo most brilliantly revealed himself the wise,
learned, and energetic shepherd of the Church (see MONOPHYSITISM). From his first letter on this subject,
written to Eutyches on 1 June, 448 (ep. xx), to his last letter
written to the new orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, Timotheus
Salophaciolus, on 18 August, 460 (ep. clxxi), we cannot but admire
the clear, positive, and systematic manner in which Leo, fortified
by the primacy of the Holy See, took part in this difficult
entanglement. For particulars refer to the articles: EUTYCHES ; SAINT FLAVIAN; ROBBER COUNCIL OF EPHESUS.
Eutyches appealed to the pope after he had been excommunicated by
Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople, on account of his Monophysite
views. The pope, after investigating the disputed question, sent his
sublime dogmatic letter to Flavian (ep. xxviii), concisely setting
forth and confirming the doctrine of the Incarnation, and the union
of the Divine and human natures in the one Person of Christ . In 449
the council, which was designated by Leo as the "Robber Synod", was
held. Flavian and other powerful prelates of the East appealed to
the pope. The latter sent urgent letters to Constantinople,
particularly to Emperor Theodosius II and Empress Pulcheria, urging
them to convene a general council in order to restore peace to the
Church. To the same end he used his influence with the Western
emperor, Valentinian III, and his mother Galla Placidia, especially
during their visit to Rome in 450. This general council was held in
Chalcedon in 451 under Marcian, the successor of Theodosius. It
solemnly accepted Leo's dogmatical epistle to Flavian as an
expression of the Catholic Faith concerning the Person of Christ.
The pope confirmed the decrees of the Council after eliminating the
canon, which elevated the Patriarchate of Constantinople, while
diminishing the rights of the ancient Oriental patriarchs. On 21
March, 453, Leo issued a circular letter confirming his dogmatic
definition (ep. cxiv). Through the mediation of Bishop Julian of
Cos, who was at that time the papal ambassador in Constantinople,
the pope tried to protect further ecclesiastical interests in the
Orient. He persuaded the new Emperor of Constantinople, Leo I, to
remove the heretical and irregular patriarch, Timotheus Ailurus,
from the See of Alexandria. A new and orthodox patriarch, Timotheus
Salophaciolus, was chosen to fill his place, and received the
congratulations of the pope in the last letter which Leo ever sent
to the Orient.
In his far-reaching pastoral care of the Universal Church, in the
West and in the East, the pope never neglected the domestic
interests of the Church at Rome. When Northern Italy had been
devastated by Attila, Leo by a personal encounter with the King of
the Huns prevented him from marching upon Rome. At the emperor's
wish, Leo, accompanied by the Consul Avienus and the Prefect
Trigetius, went in 452 to Upper Italy, and met Attila at Mincio in
the vicinity of Mantua, obtaining from him the promise that he would
withdraw from Italy and negotiate peace with the emperor. The pope
also succeeded in obtaining another great favour for the inhabitants
of Rome. When in 455 the city was captured by the Vandals under
Genseric, although for a fortnight the town had been plundered,
Leo's intercession obtained a promise that the city should not be
injured and that the lives of the inhabitants should be spared.
These incidents show the high moral authority enjoyed by the pope,
manifested even in temporal affairs. Leo was always on terms of
intimacy with the Western Imperial Court. In 450 Emperor Valentinian
III visited Rome, accompanied by his wife Eudoxia and his mother
Galla Placidia. On the feast of Cathedra Petri (22 February), the
Imperial family with their brilliant retinue took part in the solemn
services at St. Peter's, upon which occasion the pope delivered an
impressive sermon. Leo was also active in building and restoring
churches. He built a basilica over the grave of Pope Cornelius in
the Via Appia. The roof of St. Paul's without the Walls having been
destroyed by lightning, he had it replaced, and undertook other
improvements in the basilica. He persuaded Empress Galla Placidia,
as seen from the inscription, to have executed the great mosaic of
the Arch of Triumph, which has survived to our day. Leo also
restored St. Peter's on the Vatican. During his pontificate a pious
Roman lady, named Demetria, erected on her property on the Via Appia
a basilica in honour of St. Stephen, the ruins of which have been
excavated.
Leo was no less active in the spiritual elevation of the Roman
congregations, and his sermons, of which ninety-six genuine examples
have been preserved, are remarkable for their profundity, clearness
of diction, and elevated style. The first five of these, which were
delivered on the anniversaries of his consecration, manifest his
lofty conception of the dignity of his office, as well as his
thorough conviction of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome, shown
forth in so outspoken and decisive a manner by his whole activity as
supreme pastor. Of his letters, which are of great importance for
church history, 143 have come down to us: we also possess thirty
which were sent to him. The so-called "Sacramentarium Leonianum" is
a collection of orations and prefaces of the Mass, prepared in the
second half of the sixth century. Leo died on 10 November, 461, and
was buried in the vestibule of St. Peter's on the Vatican. In 688
Pope Sergius had his remains transferred to the basilica itself, and
a special altar erected over them. They rest to-day in St. Peter's,
beneath the altar specially dedicated to St. Leo. In 1754 Benedict
XIV exalted him to the dignity of Doctor of the Church (doctor
ecclesiæ). In the Latin Church the feast day of the great pope
is held on 11 April, and in the Eastern Church on 18 February.
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