461 St.
Leo the Great was born in Tuscany persuaded Attila the Hun to turn back at
the very gates of Rome
Romæ item natális sancti
Leónis Papæ Primi, Confessóris et Ecclésiæ
Doctóris; qui, virtútum excéllens méritis, dictus
est Magnus. Ejus tempóribus celebráta fuit sancta Synodus
Chalcedonénsis, in qua ipse per legátos damnávit Eutychen;
cujus étiam Synodi decréta póstmodum auctoritáte
sua confirmávit. Tandem, cum sanxísset multa luculentérque
scripsísset, Pastor bonus, de sancta Dei Ecclésia et univérso
grege Domínico óptime méritus, quiévit in pace.
Ipsíus tamen festívitas tértio Idus Aprílis
celebrátur.
At Rome, Pope St. Leo I, confessor and doctor of the Church, surnamed the
Great because of his extraordinary merits. During his pontificate
the holy Council of Chalcedon was held which condemned Eutyches through
his legates, and whose decrees were afterwards given the seal of his authority.
After meriting the gratitude of the Church of God and the whole flock of
Christ by the many decrees which he issued, and by the many excellent works
which he wrote, this good and zealous shepherd rested in peace. His
feast is celebrated on the 11th of April.
As deacon, he was dispatched to Gaul as a mediator by Emperor Valentinian III. He reigned as
Pope between 440 and 461. He persuaded Emperor Valentinian to recognize
the primacy of the Bishop of Rome
in an edict in 445.
The doctrine of the Incarnation was formed by him in a letter
to the Patriarch of Constantinople, who had already condemned Eutyches.
At the Council of
Chalcedon this same letter was confirmed as the expression of Catholic
Faith concerning the Person of Christ.
All secular historical treatises eulogize his efforts during
the upheaval of the fifth century barbarian invasion. His encounter with
Attila the Hun, at the very
gates of Rome persuading him to turn back, remains a historical memorial to
his great eloquence. When the Vandals under Genseric occupied the city of
Rome, he persuaded the invaders to desist from pillaging the city and harming
its inhabitants. He died in 461, leaving many letters and writings of great
historical value.
Leo the Great, Pope Doctor (RM) Born in Rome or Tuscany, Italy;
died in Rome, November 10, 461; feast day formerly April 11.
“ In Jesus humility
was taken up into majesty, weakness into strength, mortality into eternity;
and to pay the debt that we humans had incurred, an inviolable nature was
united with a nature capable of suffering. He assumed the form of a servant
without the stain of sin, enhancing what was human, not detracting from
what was divine ”
--Leo the Great.
Born in Tuscany or in Rome of Tuscan parents, Leo was a man
of the noblest character and great ability. He became a deacon under Saint
Celestine I and later under Saint Sixtus III. Saint Cyril wrote directly to
him, and Saint John Cassian dedicated his treatise against Nestorius to him.
In 440, Leo was sent to arbitrate a dispute between Aetius
and Albinus, the imperial generals whose quarrels were leaving Gaul open
to attacks by the barbarians. While he was still with the two generals,
a deputation came to announce the death of Pope Sixtus III and his own succession
to the papacy.
Leo took the Chair of Saint
Peter on September 29, 440. In this capacity he showed himself a true shepherd
and father of souls during a time of crisis both in the Church and in the
empire. He immediately set about advancing and consolidating the Roman see,
and began his pastoral duties with a series of 96 still extant sermons on
faith, encouraging various acts of Christian social charity, elaborating
on Christian doctrine, strenuously opposing Manichaeanism, Pelagianism, Priscillianism,
and Nestorianism, and defending papal primacy in the jurisdiction of the
Church.
Because of his efforts to preserve
the integrity of the faith, to defend the unity of the Church, and to repel
or mitigate the effects of the barbarian invasions, he well deserves to
be called "the Great."
In 448 he received a letter
from an abbot (archimandrite) in Constantinople, Eutyches, complaining about
the revival of the Nestorian heresy. He replied guardedly and promised to
make enquiries. The following year Leo received a protest by Eutyches (supported
by the Emperor Theodosius II) against the fact that Saint Flavian, patriarch
of Constantinople, had excommunicated him. Duplicates of this letter were
sent to the patriarchs of Alexandria and Jerusalem.
Because no official notice of Eutyches excommunication proceedings
had reached Rome, Leo wrote to Flavian, who sent a report of the synod at
which the abbot had been sentenced. Communication with Saint Flavian revealed
that Eutyches denied the two natures of Christ--making him a heretic.
In 449, a council was summoned at Ephesus by Emperor Theodosius,
with the superficial intention of investigating the matter. The synod, dubbed
"the Robber Synod," was packed with Eutyches's friends and acquitted him
while condemning Saint Flavian. Dioscorus, the patriarch of Alexandria, prevented
the papal legates from reading aloud a letter Pope Leo had sent through
Flavian. Saint Flavian was physically assaulted during the synod and died
from the violence done to his person during his deposition. Following
the council Dioscorus was intruded as patriarch of Constantinople in place
of Flavian by Emperor Theodosius.
In 451, under Emperor Marcian, 600 bishops and Leo's representatives
met during the fourth general council at Chalcedon to consider the teaching
of Eutyches (Monophysism). Leo's doctrinal letter (The Dogmatic Letter or
Tome of Saint Leo) on the Incarnation was acclaimed as the basis of the
council's declaration of orthodox doctrine on Christ's two natures.
This Tome was the letter sent to the earlier synodal council through Patriarch
Flavian of Constantinople, suppressed by Dioscorus, which stated that in
Jesus Christ "was born true God in the entire and perfect nature of true
man. . . . The Son of God, came down from heaven without withdrawing from
his Father's glory, and entered this lower world, born after a new order,
by a new mode of birth."
Thus, Saint Flavian was vindicated in the Council of Chalcedon
and Dioscorus was excommunicated and deposed.
The immediate aim of Saint Leo
was to combat the teaching of the monk Eutyches, who had insisted that Jesus
had only one nature, since (Eutyches maintained) his human nature was absorbed
into his divine nature. But the Tome also greatly enhanced the papacy for
the Council of Chalcedon recognized Leo's teaching as "the voice of Saint
Peter."
The Council of Chalcedon also issued a canon that Leo refused to recognize:
Constantinople was given a dignity second only to Rome above that of Alexandria
and Antioch, which threatened to disrupt an ancient traditional order.
The following year, after Attila the Hun had plundered Milan and destroyed
Pavia, Leo in person went to Peschiera to confront the invading Huns at
the river Mincio, and induced Attila--in consideration of an annual tribute
from Rome--to withdraw beyond the Danube. Unfortunately, he could not stop
the Vandals. In 455 the Vandal Genseric attacked and sacked Rome, but Leo
persuaded him against killing the inhabitants and burning the city.
After the Vandals departed, Leo ministered to the people, replacing the
treasures of the churches, and he sent missionary priests with money to
Africa to minister to the captives, whom the Vandals took with them, and
to purchase their freedom.
In his lifetime Leo gained the respect of people of all ranks, from emperors
to barbarians, and his sagacity and effectiveness were to influence the
concept of the papacy for centuries. Saint Leo continually attempted to
meet the demands of his day firmly and authoritatively. He saw the need to
strengthen and extend the influence of the Roman Church; he exerted his authority
as pope in Spain, in Gaul, in Illyricum, and in North Africa. His actions
provided the energetic central authority needed for stability during this
chaotic time.
Leo the Great left 432 (Walsh says 143) surviving letters as well as the
96 sermons noted previously. His writings are remarkable for their precision
and clear expression, revealing him to be a decisive and firm man, who speaks
with the voice of Peter. He secured the support of Emperor Valentinian
III, although he did not manage to persuade the whole eastern church to
accept his jurisdiction.
Saint Leo was typical of the
best Roman character: energetic, magnanimous, consistent and unswerving
in duty, his religion firmly anchored in the central Christian mystery of
the Incarnation of the Word. He always trusted in God, was never discouraged,
and maintained an unruffled equanimity even in the most difficult circumstances.
The learned Pope Benedict XIV in 1754 added Saint Leo's name to those of
the doctors of the Church. His relics are preserved in the Vatican basilica
(Attwater, Bentley, Delaney, Jalland, Walsh, White).
Leo is depicted as a pope with a dragon near him as in the
15th- century Breviary of Martin of Aragon. Sometimes he is shown (1) with
SS Peter and Paul confronting Attila; (2) Saint Peter giving him the Pallium;
(3) angels surrounding him; (4) meeting Attila the Hun at the gates of Rome;
(5) on horseback, with Attila and his soldiers kneeling before him; or (6)
praying at the tomb of Saint Peter (Roeder, White).
His relics are preserved in the Vatican Basilica. He is the
patron saint of choristers and musicians (Roeder).
His Letters
Letter 1 TO THE
BISHOP OF AQUILEIA. Letter 4 10 Oct,
in the consulship of the illustrious Maximus(a second time) and Paterius(A.D.
443) to all the bishops appointed in Campania, Picenum, Etruria, and all
the provinces. Letter
6 to his beloved brother Anastasius..12 Jan in consulship of Theodosius
(18th time) and Albinus(444). Letter 7 to all
the bishops set over the provinces of Italy 30 Jan in consulship of illustrious
Theodosius Augustus (18th time) and Albinus (444). Letter 9 to
Dioscorus, bishop of Alexandria,Dated 21 June (?445) Letter 10 To the
beloved brothers, the whole body of bishops of the province of Vienne
Letter 12
to all the bishops of Mauritania Caesariensis in Africa Letter 14 to
Anastasius, bishop of Thessalonica Letter 15 To Turribius,
Bishop Of Asturia, Upon The Errors Of The Priscillianists. July 21 in consulship
of illustrious Calipius and Ardaburis (447). Letter 16 to
all the bishops throughout Sicily 21 Oct., in the consulship of the
illustrious Alipius and Ardaburis (447) Letter 17 To all
the bishops of Sicily (forbidding the sale of church property except for
the advantage of the church).20 Oct., in the consulship of the illustrious
Calepius (447) Letter 18
to Januarius, bishop of Aquileia 0 Dec., in the consulship of the illustrious
Calepius and Ardaburis (447) Letter 19 To
Dorus, Bishop Of Beneventum 8th March, in the consulship of the illustrious
Postumianus (448) Letter 20 to
his dearly-beloved son, Eutyches, presbyter Abbot Of Constantinople.
Letter 21
From Eutyches presbyter and archimandrite To Leo. Letter 22 The First
From Flavian, Bp. Of Constantinople To Pope Leo. Letter 23 To
his well-beloved brother Flavian the bishop 18 February (449), in the consulship
of the illustrious Asturius and Protogenes Letter 24 to
Theodosius Augustus II 18th of February, in the consulship of the illustrious
Asturius and Protogenes (449) Letter 26 A Second
One From Flavian To Leo. Letter 27
to Flavian, bishop of Constantinople 21st May in the consulship of Asturius
and Protogenes (449) Letter 28 - Better
known as "The Tome"The 13 June, 449, in the consulship of the most illustrious
Asturius and Protogenes.
TO FLAVIAN. COMMONLY CALLED "THE
TOME".
I. Eutyches has been driven into his error by presumption and
ignorance. Having read your letter, beloved, at the late arrival of which
we are surprised, and having perused the detailed account of the bishops'
acts, we have at last found out what the scandal was which had arisen among
you against the purity of the Faith: and what before seemed concealed has
now been unlocked and laid open to our view: from which it is shown that
Eutyches, who used to seem worthy of all respect in virtue of his priestly
office, is very unwary and exceedingly ignorant, so that it is even of him
that the prophet has said: "he refused to understand so as to do well: he
thought upon iniquity in his bed." But what more iniquitous than to hold
blasphemous opinions, and not to give way to those who are wiser and more
learned than ourself. Now into this unwisdom fall they who, finding themselves
hindered from knowing the truth by some obscurity, have recourse not to the
prophets' utterances, not to the Apostles' letters, nor to the injunctions
of the Gospel but to their own selves: and thus they stand out as masters
of error because they were never disciples of truth. For what learning has
he acquired about the pages of the New and Old Testament, who has not even
grasped the rudiments of the Creed? And that which, throughout the world,
is professed by the mouth of every one who is to be born again, is not yet
taken in by the heart of this old man.
II. Concerning the twofold nativity
and nature of Christ. Not knowing, therefore, what he was bound to think
concerning the incarnation of the Word of GOD, and not wishing to gain the
light of knowledge by researches through the length 39 and breadth of the
Holy Scriptures, he might at least have listened attentively to that general
and uniform confession, whereby the whole body of the faithful confess that
they believe in GOD the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son,
our Lord, who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. By which
three statements the devices of almost all heretics are overthrown. For not
only is GOD believed to be both Almighty and the Father, but the Son is shown
to be co-eternal with Him, differing in nothing from the Father because He
is GOD from. GOD, Almighty from Almighty, and being born from the Eternal
one is co-eternal with Him; not later in point of time, not lower in power,
not unlike in glory, not divided in essence: but at the same time the only
begotten of the eternal Father was born eternal of the Holy Spirit and the
Virgin Mary. And this nativity which took place in time took nothing from,
and added nothing to that divine and eternal birth, but expended itself wholly
on the restoration of man who had been deceived: in order that he might both
vanquish death and overthrow by his strength, the Devil who possessed the
power of death. For we should not now be able to overcome the author of sin
and death unless He took our nature on Him and made it His own, whom neither
sin could pollute nor death retain. Doubtless then, He was conceived of the
Holy Spirit within the womb of His Virgin Mother, who brought Him forth
without the loss of her virginity, even as she conceived Him without its
loss. But if He could not draw a rightful understanding (of the matter) from
this pure source of the Christian belief, because He had darkened the brightness
of the clear truth by a veil of blindness peculiar to Himself, He might have
submitted Himself to the teaching of the Gospels. And when Matthew speaks
of "the Book of the Generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son
of Abraham," He might have also sought out the instruction afforded by the
statements of the Apostles. And reading in the Epistle to the Romans, "Paul,
a servant of Jesus Christ, called an Apostle, separated unto the Gospel of
GOD, which He had promised before by His prophets in the Holy Scripture concerning
His son, who was made unto Him of the seed of David after the flesh," he
might have bestowed a loyal carefulness upon the pages of the prophets. And
finding the promise of God who says to Abraham, "In thy seed shall all nations
be blest," to avoid all doubt as to the reference of this seed, he might
have followed the Apostle when He says, "To Abraham were the promises made
and to his seed. He saith not and to seeds, as if in many, but as it in one,
and to thy seed which is Christs." Isaiah's prophecy also he might have grasped
by a closer attention to what he says, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a Son and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is interpreted"
GOD with us." And the same prophet's words he might have read faithfully.
"A child is born to us, a Son is given to us, whose power is upon His shoulder,
and they shall call His name the Angel of the Great Counsel, Wonderful,
Counsellor, the Mighty GOD, the Prince of Peace, the Father of the age to
come." And then he would not speak so erroneously as to say that the Word
became flesh in such a way that Christ, born of the Virgin's womb, had the
form of man, but had not the reality of His mother's body. Or is it possible
that he thought our LORD Jesus Christ was not of our nature for this reason,
that the angel, who was sent to the blessed Mary ever Virgin, says, "The
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow
thee: and therefore that Holy Thing also that shall be born of thee shall
be called the Son of GOD," on the supposition that as the conception of the
Virgin was a Divine act, the flesh of the conceived did not partake of the
conceiver's nature? But that birth so uniquely wondrous and so wondrously
unique, is not to be understood in such wise that the properties of His kind
were removed through the novelty of His creation. For though the Holy Spirit
imparted fertility to the Virgin, yet a real body was received from her body;
and, "Wisdom building her a house," "the Word became flesh and dwelt in us,"
that is, in that flesh which he took from man and which he quickened with
the breath of a higher life. 40
III. The Faith and counsel of
GOD in regard to the incarnation of the Word are set forth. Without detriment
therefore to the properties of either nature and substance which then came
together in one person, majesty took on humility, strength weakness, eternity
mortality: and for the paying off of the debt belonging to our condition
inviolable nature was united with possible nature, so that, as suited the
needs of our case, one and the same Mediator between GOD and men, the Man
Christ Jesus, could both die with the one and not die with the other. Thus
in the whole and perfect nature of true man was true GOD born, complete in
what was His own, complete in what was ours. And by "ours" we mean what
the Creator formed in us from the beginning and what He undertook to repair.
For what the Deceiver brought in and man deceived committed, had no trace
in the Saviour. Nor, because He partook of man's weaknesses, did He therefore
share our faults. He took the form of a slave without stain of sin, increasing
the human and not diminishing the divine: because that emptying of Himself
whereby the Invisible made Himself visible and, Creator and LORD of all things
though He be, wished to be a mortal, was the bending down of pity, not the
failing of power. Accordingly He who while remaining in the form of GOD made
man, was also made man in the form of a slave. For both natures retain their
own proper character without loss: and as the form of GOD did not do away
with the form of a slave, so the form of a slave did not impair the form
of GOD. For inasmuch as the Devil used to boast that man had been cheated
by his guile into losing the divine gifts, and bereft of the boon of immortality
had undergone sentence of death, and that he had found some solace in his
troubles from having a partner in delinquency, and that GOD also at the
demand of the principle of justice had changed His own purpose towards man
whom He had created in such honour: there was need for the issue of a secret
counsel, that the unchangeable GOD whose will cannot be robbed of its own
kindness, might carry out the first design of His Fatherly care towards
us by a more hidden mystery; and that man who had been driven into his fault
by the treacherous cunning of the devil might not perish contrary to the
purpose of GOD.
IV. The properties of the twofold
nativity and nature of Christ are weighed one against another. There enters
then these lower parts of the world the Son of GOD, descending from His
heavenly home and yet not quitting His Father's glory, begotten in a new
order by a new nativity. In a new order, because being invisible in His own
nature, He became visible in ours, and He whom nothing could contain was
content to be contained: abiding before all time He began to be in time:
the LORD of all things, He obscured His immeasurable majesty and took on
Him the form of a servant: being GOD that cannot suffer, He did not disdain
to be man that can, and, immortal as He is, to subject Himself to the laws
of death. The LORD assumed His mother's nature without her faultiness: nor
in the LORD Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin's womb, does the wonderfulness
of His birth make His nature unlike ours. For He who is true GOD is also
true man: and in this union there is no lie, since the humility of manhood
and the loftiness of the Godhead both meet there. For as GOD is not changed
by the showing of pity, so man is not swallowed up by the dignity. For each
form does what is proper to it with the co-operation of the other; that is
the Word performing what appertains to the Word, and the flesh carrying
out what appertains to the flesh. One of 41 them sparkles with miracles,
the other succumbs to injuries. And as the Word does not cease to be on an
equality with His Father's glory, so the flesh does not forego the nature
of our race. For it must again and again be repeated that one and the same
is truly Son of GOD and truly son of man. GOD in that "in the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with GOD, and the Word was GOD;" man in that "the
Word became flesh and dwelt in us." GOD in that "all things were made by
Him, and without Him was nothing made:" man in that "He was made of a woman,
made under law." The nativity of the flesh was the manifestation of human
nature: the childbearing of a virgin is the proof of Divine power. The infancy
of a babe is shown in the humbleness of its cradle: the greatness of the
Most High is proclaimed by the angels' voices. He whom Herod treacherously
endeavours to destroy is like ourselves in our earliest stage: but He whom
the Magi delight to worship on their knees is the LORD of all. So too when
He came to the baptism of John, His forerunner, lest He should not be known
through the veil of flesh which covered His Divinity, the Father's voice
thundering from the sky, said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased." And thus Him whom the devil's craftiness attacks as man, the ministries
of angels serve as GOD. To be hungry and thirsty, to be weary, and to sleep,
is clearly human: but to satisfy 5,000 men with five loaves, and to bestow
on the woman of Samaria living water, droughts of which can secure the drinker
from thirsting any more, to walk upon the surface of the sea with feet that
do not sink, and to quell the risings of the waves by rebuking the winds,
is, without any doubt, Divine. Just as therefore, to pass over many other
instances, it is not part of the same nature to be moved to tears of pity
for a dead friend, and when the stone that closed the four-days' grave was
removed, to raise that same friend to life with a voice of command: or, to
hang on the cross, and turning day to night, to make all the elements tremble:
or, to be pierced with nails, and yet open the gates of paradise to the
robber's faith: so it is not part of the same nature to say, "I and the
Father are one," and to say, "the Father is greater than I." For although
in the LORD Jesus Christ GOD and man is one person, yet the source of the
degradation, which is shared by both, is one, and the source of the glory,
which is shared by both, is another. For His manhood, which is less than
the Father, comes from our side: His Godhead, which is equal to the Father,
comes from the Father.
V. Christ's flesh is proved
real from Scripture. Therefore in consequence of this unity of person which
is to be understood in both natures, we read of the Son of Man also descending
from heaven, when the Son of GOD took flesh from the Virgin who bore Him.
And again the Son of GOD is said to have been crucified and buried, although
it was not actually in His Divinity whereby the Only-begotten is co-eternal
and con-substantial with the Father, but in His weak human nature that He
suffered these things. And so it is that in the Creed also we all confess
that the Only-begotten Son of God was crucified and buried, according to
that saying of the Apostle: "for if they had known, they would never have
crucified the LORD of glory." But when our LORD and Saviour Himself would
instruct His disciples' faith by His questionings, He said, "Whom do men
say that I, the Son of Man, am?" And when they had put on record the various
opinions of other people, He said, "But ye, whom do ye say that I am?" Me,
that is, who am the Son of Man, and whom ye see in the form of a slave, and
in true flesh, whom do ye say that I am? Whereupon blessed Peter, whose divinely
inspired confession was destined to profit all nations, said, "Thou art Christ,
the Son of the living GOD." And not undeservedly was he pronounced blessed
by the LORD, drawing from the chief corner-stone the solidity of power which
his name also expresses, he, who, through the revelation of the Father, confessed
Him to be at once Christ 42 and Son of GOD: because the receiving of the
one of these without the other was of no avail to salvation, and it was equally
perilous to have believed the LORD Jesus Christ to be either only GOD without
man, or only man without GOD. But after the LORD'S resurrection (which, of
course, was of His true body, because He was raised the same as He had died
and been buried), what else was effected by the forty days' delay than the
cleansing of our faith's purity from all darkness? For to that end He talked
with His disciples, and dwelt and ate with them, He allowed Himself to be
handled with diligent and curious touch by those who were affected by doubt,
He entered when the doors were shut upon the Apostles, and by His breathing
upon them gave them the Holy Spirit, and bestowing on them the light of understanding,
opened the secrets of the Holy Scriptures. So again He showed the wound in
His side, the marks of the nails, and all the signs of His quite recent suffering,
saying, "See My hands and feet, that it is I. Handle Me and see that a spirit
hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have;" in order that the properties
of His Divine and human nature might be acknowledged to remain still inseparable:
and that we might know the Word not to be different from the flesh, in such
a sense as also to confess that the one Son of GOD iS both the Word and flesh.
Of this mystery of the faith your opponent Eutyches must be reckoned to have
but little sense if he bus recognized our nature in the Only-begotten of
GOD neither through the humiliation of His having to die, nor through the
glory of His rising again. Nor has he any fear of the blessed apostle and
evangelist John's declaration when he says, "every spirit which confesses
Jesus Christ to have come in the flesh, is of GOD: and every spirit which
destroys Jesus is not of GOD, and this is Antichrist." But what is "to destroy
Jesus," except to take away the human nature from Him, and to render void
the mystery, by which alone we were saved, by the most barefaced fictions.
The truth is that being in darkness about the nature of Christ's body, he
must also be befooled by the same blindness in the matter of His sufferings.
For if he does not think the cross of the LORD fictitious, and does not doubt
that the punishment He underwent to save the world is likewise true, let
him acknowledge the flesh of Him whose death he already believes: and let
him not disbelieve Him man with a body like ours, since he acknowledges Him
to have been able to suffer: seeing that the denial of His true flesh is
also the denial of His bodily suffering. If therefore he receives the Christian
faith, and does not turn away his ears from the preaching of the Gospel:
let him see what was the nature that hung pierced with nails on the wooden
cross, and, when the side of the Crucified was opened by the soldier's spear,
let him understand whence it was that blood and water flowed, that the Church
of GOD might be watered from the font and from the cup. Let him hear also
the blessed Apostle Peter, proclaiming that the sanctification of the Spirit
takes place through the sprinkling of Christ's blood. And let him not read
cursorily the same Apostle's words when he says, "Knowing that not with corruptible
things, such as silver and gold, have ye been redeemed from your vain manner
of life which is part of your fathers' tradition, but with the precious blood
of Jesus Christ as of a lamb
without spot and blemish." Let him not resist too the witness of the blessed
Apostle John, who says: "and the blood of Jesus the Son of GOD cleanseth
us from all sin." And again: "this is the victory which overcometh the world,
our faith." And "who is He that overcometh the world save He that believeth
that Jesus is the Son of GOD. This is He that came by water and blood, Jesus
Christ: not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit
that testifieth, because the Spirit is the truth, because there are three
that bear witness, the Spirit, the water and the blood, and the three are
one." The Spirit, that is, of sanctification, and the blood of redemption,
and the water of baptism: because the three are one, and remain undivided,
and none of them is separated from this connection; because the catholic
Church lives and progresses by this faith, so that in Christ Jesus neither
the manhood without the true Godhead nor 43 the Godhead without the true
manhood is believed in.
VI. The wrong and mischievous
concession of Eutyches. The terms on which he may be restored to communion.
The sending of deputies to the East. But when during your cross-examination
Eutyches replied and said, "I confess that our LORD had two natures before
the union but after the union I confess but one," I am surprised that so
absurd and mistaken a statement of his should not have been criticised and
rebuked by his judges, and that an utterance which reaches the height of
stupidity and blasphemy should be allowed to pass as if nothing offensive
had been heard: for the impiety of saying that the Son of GOD was of two
natures before His incarnation is only equalled by the iniquity of asserting
that there was but one nature in Him after "the Word became flesh." And
to the end that Eutyches may not think this a right or defensible opinion
because it was not contradicted by any expression of yourselves, we warn
you beloved brother, to take anxious care that if ever through the inspiration
of GOD'S mercy the case is brought to a satisfactory conclusion, his ignorant
mind be purged from this pernicious idea as well as others. He was, indeed,
just beginning to beat a retreat from his erroneous conviction, as the order
of proceedings shows, in so far as when hemmed in by your remonstrances
he agreed to say what he had not said before and to acquiesce in that belief
to which before he had been opposed. However, when he refused to give his
consent to the anathematizing of his blasphemous dogma, you understood, brother,
that he abode by his treachery and deserved to receive a verdict of condemnation.
And yet, if he grieves over it faithfully and to good purpose, and, late
though it be, acknowledges how rightly the bishops' authority has been set
in motion; or if with his own mouth and hand in your presence he recants
his wrong opinions, no mercy that is shown to him when penitent can be found
fault with s: because our LORD, that true and "good shepherd" who laid down
His life for His sheep and who came to save not lose men's souls, wishes
us to imitate His kindness; in order that while justice constrains us when
we sin, mercy may prevent our rejection when we have returned. For then at
last is the true Faith most profitably defended when a false belief is condemned
even by the supporters of it. Now for the loyal and faithful execution of
the whole matter, we have appointed to represent us our brothers Julius Bishop
and Renatus priest [of the Title of S. Clement], as well as my son Hilary,
deacon. And with them we have associated Dulcitius our notary, whose faith
is well approved: being sure that the Divine help will be given us, so that
he who had erred may be saved when the wrongness of his view has been condemned.
GOD keep you safe, beloved brother. The 13 June, 449, in the consulship of
the most illustrious Asturius and Protogenes.
Letter 29 To
Caesar Theodosius, the most religious and devout Augustus Leo pope of the
Catholic Church of the city of Rome 13th June in the consulship of the illustrious
Asturius and Protogenes (449) Letter 31 Leo to
Pulcheria Augusta 13 June in the consulship of the illustrious Asturius
and Protogenes (449) Letter 32 To the
Archimandrites of Constantinople 13th June, in the consulship of the illustrious
Asturius and Protogenes (449) Letter 33 Leo,
bishop, to the holy Synod which is assembled at Ephesus 13th June in the
consulship of the illustrious Asturius and Protogenes (449) Letter 34 To Julian,
Bishop of Cos. 13th June in the consulship of the illustrious Asturius and
Protogenes (449) Letter 35 To Julian,
Bishop of Cos. 13th June in the consulship of the illustrious Asturius and
Protogenes (449) Letter 37 to
Theodosius Augustus 21st of June, in the consulship of the illustrious Asturius
and Protogenes, (449) Letter 38
to Flavian, bishop of Constantinople 23 July in the consulship of the illustrious
Asturius and Protogenes (449) Letter 39 To Flavian,
Bishop Of Constantinople 11th August in the consulship of the illustrious
Asturius and Protogenes (449) Letter 40 To his
well-beloved brethren Constantinus Audentius, Rusticus, Auspicius, Nicetas,
Nectarius, Florus, Asclepius, Justus, Augustalis, Ynantius, and Chrysaphius
Bishops Of The Province Of Arles In Gaul 22 August in the consulship of
Asturius and Protogenes (449) Letter 42 to
his well-beloved brother Ravennius Bishop Of Arles 26th, August, in
the consulship of the illustrious Asturius and Protogenes (449)
Letter 43
To the most glorious and serene Emperor Theodosius Letter 44 Leo,
the bishop, and the holy Synod which is assembled at Rome to Theodosius Augustus
13th of October, in the consulship of the illustrious Asturius and Protogenes
(449) Letter
45 Leo, the bishop, and the holy Synod which is assembled in the City
of Rome to Pulcheria Augusta 13th of October in the consulship of the illustrious
Asturius and Protogenes (449) Letter 52 From
Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus, to Leo. (See vol. iii. of this Series, p. 293
Date about the end of 449 Letter 56 (FROM
GALLA PLACIDIA AUGUSTA TO THEODOSIUS). To the Lord Theodosius, Conqueror
and 58 Emperor, her ever august son, Galla Placidia, most pious and prosperous,
perpetual Augusta and mother Letter 59 Leo
the bishop to the clergy, dignitaries, and people, residing at Constantinople
October 15, in the consulship of the illustrious Asturius and Protogenes,
449.) Letter
66 LEO'S REPLY TO LETTER LXV. Leo, the pope, to the dearly-beloved brethren
Constantinus, Armentarius, Audientius Severianus, Valerianus, Ursus, Stephanus,
Nectarius, Constantius, Maximus, Asclepius, Theodorus, Justus Ingenuus,
Augustalis, Superventor, Ynantius, Fonteius, and Palladius 5th of May, in
the consulship of Valentinianus Augustus (7th time), and the most famous
Avienus (450.) Letter 67
To Ravennius, Bishop Of Arles.5th of May, in the consulship of the most glorious
Valentinianus (for the 7th time) and of the famous Avienus (450) Letter 68 FROM THREE
GALLIC BISHOPS TO ST. LEO. Ceretius, Salonius and Veranus to the holy Lord,
most blessed father, and pope most worthy of the Apostolic See, Leo. I
Letter 69
to Theodosius ever Augustus 17th July in the consulship of the illustrious
Valentinianus for the seventh time) and Avienus (450) Letter 79 Leo, bishop
of the city of Rome to Pulcheria Augusta. April 13, in the consulship of
the illustrious Adelfius (451) Letter 80 To Anatolius,
Bishop Of Constantinople 13 April, in the consulship of the illustrious
Adelfius (451) Letter 82 To Marcian
Augustus 23rd of April in the consulship of the illustrious Adelfius (451)
Letter 85
To Anatolius, Bishop Of Constantinople 9th of June in the consulship of
the illustrious Adelfius (451) Letter 88 To Paschasinus,
Bishop Of Lilybaeum June 24th in the consulship of the illustrious Adelfius
(451). Letter
93 Leo, the bishop of the city of Rome, to the holy Synod, assembled
at Nicaea 26th, of June, in the consulship of the illustrious Adelfius (451)
Letter 95
To Pulcheria Augusta By The Hand Of Theoctistus The Magistrian 20th of July,
in the consulship of the illustrious Adelfius (451) Letter 98 The great
and holy and universal Synod, which by the grace of God and the sanction
of our most pious and Christ-loving Emperors has been gathered together in
the metropolis of Chalcedon in the province of Bithynia, to the most holy
and blessed archbishop of Rome, Leo. I Letter 101
FROM ANATOLIUS, BISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE, TO LEO.
(Dealing with much the same
subjects as Letter XCVIII. from Anatolius' own standpoint: Chap. iii. is
translated in extenso as illustrating XCVIII., chap. iii.) III.
He describes the circumstances
under which the doctrine of the Incarnation had been formulated by the Synod
Letter 104
To Marcian Augustus, about the presumption of Anatolius, by the hand of Lucian
the bishop and Basil the deacon.) Leo, the bishop, to Marcian Augustus
Letter 105
(TO PULCHERIA AUGUSTA ABOUT THE SELF-SEEKING OF ANATOLIUS.) Leo the bishop
to Pulcheria Augusta 22nd of May, in the consulship of the illustrious Herculanus
(452) Letter
106 To Anatolius, Bishop Of Constantinople, In Rebuke Of His Self-Seeking
22nd of May in the consulship of the illustrious Herculanus (452)
Letter 108
to Theodore, bishop of Forum Julii. June 11th in the consulship of the illustrious
Herculanus (452) Letter 109
To Julian, Bishop Of Cos. November 25th in the consulship of Herculanus (452)
Letter 113
to Julian, bishop of Cos. March 11th, in the consulship of the illustrious
Opilio (453) Letter 117
TO JULIAN, BISHOP OF COS. Leo to Julian the bishop. I. He wishes his assent
to the Acts of Chalcedon to be widely known. How watchfully and how devotedly
you guard the catholic Faith, brother, the tenor of your letter shows, and
my anxiety is greatly relieved by the information it contains; supplemented
as it is by the most religious piety of our religious Emperor, which is
clearly shown to be prepared by the Lord for the confirmation of the whole
Church; so that, whilst Christian princes act for the Faith with holy zeal,
the priests of the Lord may confidently pray for their realm. What therefore
our most clement Emperor deemed needful I have willingly complied with,
by sending letters to all the brethren who were present at the Synod of
Chalcedon, in which to show that I approved of what was resolved upon by
our holy brethren about the Rule of Faith; on their account to wit, who
in order to cloke their own treachery, pretend to consider invalid or doubtful
such conciliar ordinances as are not ratified by my assent albeit, after
the return of the brethren whom I had sent in my stead, I dispatched a letter
to the bishop of Constantinople; so that, if he had been minded to publish
it, abundant proof might have been furnished thereby how gladly I approved
of what the synod had passed concerning the Faith. 21st March, in the consulship
of the illustrious Opilio (453) Letter 119
TO MAXIMUS, BISHOP OF ANTIOCH, BY THE HAND OF MARIAN THE PRESBYTER, AND OLYMPIUS
THE DEACON. Leo to Maximus of Antioch. I. The Faith is the mean between the
two extremes of Eutyches and Nestorius. How much, beloved, you have at heart
the most sacred unity of our common Faith and the tranquil harmony of the
Church's peace, the substance of your letter shows, which was brought me
by our sons, Marian the presbyter and Olympius the deacon, and which was
the more welcome to us because thereby we can join as it were in conversation,
and thus the grace of GOD becomes more and more known and greater joy is
felt through the whole world over the revelation of catholic Truth. And yet
we are sore grieved at some who still (so your messengers indicate)
love their darkness; and though the brightness of day has arisen everywhere,
even still delight in the obscurity of their blindness, and abandoning the
Faith, remain Christians in only the empty name, without knowledge to discern
one error from another, and to distinguish the blasphemy of Nestorius from
the impiety of Eutyches. 11th of June, in the consulship of the illustrious
Opilio (453) Letter 120 TO THEODORET,
BISHOP OF CYRUS, ON PERSEVERANCE IN THE FAITH. Leo, the bishop, to his beloved
brother Theodoret, the bishop. I. He congratulates Theodoret on their joint
victory, and expresses his approval of an hottest inquiry which leads to
good results. On the return of our brothers and fellow-priests, whom the
See of the blessed Peter sent to the holy council, we ascertained, beloved,
the victory you and we together had won by assistance from on high over the
blasphemy of Nestorius, as well as over the madness of Eutyches. 11 June
in the consulship of the illustrious Opilio (453) Letter 123 TO EUDOCIA
AUGUSTA, ABOUT THE MONKS OF PALESTINE. Leo, the bishop, to Eudocia Augusta.
I. A request that she should use her influence with the monks of Palestine
in reducing them to order. I do not doubt that your piety is aware how great
is my devotion to the catholic Faith, and with what care I am bound, GOD
helping me, to guard against the Gospel of truth being withstood at any time
by ignorant or disloyal men. For as the catholic Faith condemns Nestorius,
who dared to maintain two persons in our one LORD Jesus Christ, so does it
also condemn Eutyches and Dioscorus who deny that the 91 true human flesh
was assumed in the Virgin Mother's womb by the only-begotten Word of GOD.
If your exhortations have any success in convincing these persons, which
will win for you eternal glory, I beseech your clemency to inform me of it
by letter; that I may have the joy of knowing that you have reaped the fruit
of your good work, and that they through the LORD'S mercy have not perished.
Dated the 15th of June, in the consulship of the illustrious Opilio (453)
Letter 124
TO THE MONKS OF PALESTINE. Leo, the bishop, to the whole body of monks settled
throughout Palestine. I. They have possibly been misled by a wrong translation
of his letter on the Incarnation to Flavian. The anxious care, which I owe
to the whole Church and to all its sons, has ascertained from many sources
that some offence has been given to your minds, beloved, through my interpreters,
who being either ignorant, as it appears, or malicious, have made you take
some of my statements in a different sense to what I meant, not being capable
of turning the Latin into Greek with proper accuracy, although in the explanation
of subtle and difficult matters, one who undertakes to discuss them can
scarcely satisfy himself even in his own tongue. And yet this has so far
been of advantage to me, that by your disapproving of what the catholic Faith
rejects, we know you are greater friends to the true than to the false: and
that you quite properly refuse to believe what I myself also abhor, in accordance
with ancient doctrine. Letter 129 TO PROTERIUS,
BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA. Leo to Proterius, bishop of Alexandria. I. He commends
his persistent loyalty to the Faith. Your letter, beloved, which our brother
and fellow-bishop Nestorius duly brought us, has caused me great joy. For
it was seemly that such an epistle should be sent by the head of the church
of Alexandria to the Apostolic See, as showed that the Egyptians had from
the first learnt from the teaching of the most blessed Apostle Peter through
his blessed disciple Mark, that which it is agreed the Romans have believed,
that beside the LORD Jesus Christ "there is no other name given to men under
heaven, in which they must be saved." March 10th, in the consulship of the
illustrious Aetius and Studius (454) Letter 139
TO JUVENAL, BISHOP OF JERUSALEM. Leo, bishop of the city of Rome, to Juvenal,
bishop of Jerusalem. 1.He rejoices over Juvenal's return to orthodoxy, though
chiding him far having gone astray. When I received your letter, beloved,
which our sons Andrew the presbyter and Peter the deacon brought me, I rejoiced
indeed that you had been allowed to return to the seat of your bishopric;
but when all the reasons came to my remembrance, which brought you into
such excessive troubles, I grieved to think you had been yourself the source
of your adversities by failing in persistency of opposition to the heretics:
for men can but think you were not bold enough to refute those with whom
when in error you professed yourself satisfied. For the condemnation of Flavian
of blessed memory, and the acceptance of the most unholy Eutyches, what was
it but the denial of our LORD Jesus Christ according to the flesh? which
He Himself of His great mercy caused to be overthrown, when by the authority
of the holy Council of Chalcedon He brought to nought that accursed judgment
of the Synod of Ephesus without debarring any of the attainted from being
healed by correction. And therefore, because in the tithe of long-suffering,
you have chosen return to wisdom rather than persistency in folly, I rejoice
that you have so sought the heavenly remedies as at last to have become
a defender of the Faith which is assailed by heretics.4th September, in
the consulship of the illustrious Aetius and Studius (454) Letter 156 TO LEO
AUGUSTUS. Leo, the bishop, to Leo Augustus. 1. There is no need to open
the question of doctrine again now. Your clemency's letter, which was full
of vigorous faith and of the light of truth, I have respectfully received,
which I wish I could obey, even in the matter of my personal attendance,
which your Majesty thinks necessary; for then I should gain the greater advantage
from the sight of your splendour. But I believe you will approve of my view
when reason has shown it preferable. For since with holy and spiritual zeal
you consistently maintain the Church's peace, and nothing is more conducive
to the defence of the Faith than to adhere to those things which have been
incontrovertibly defined under the unceasing guidance of the Holy Spirit,
we shall seem to be doing our best to upset 100 the decrees, and at the bidding
of a heretic's petition to overthrow the authorities which the universal
Church has adopted, and thus to remove all limits from the conflicts of Churches,
and giving full rein to rebellion, to extend rather than appease contentions.
And hence because after the disgraceful scenes at the synod of Ephesus, whereat
through the wickedness of Dioscorus the catholic Faith was rejected, and
Eutyches' heresy accepted, nothing more useful could be devised for the preservation
of the Christian Faith than that the holy Synod of Chalcedon should rescind
his wicked acts, and that such care should be bestowed thereat on heavenly
doctrine, that nothing should linger in any one's mind in disagreement with
the utterances of either the Prophets or the Apostles, such moderation of
course being observed that only the persistent rebels should be east off
from the unity of the Church, and no one who was penitent should be denied
pardon, what more in accordance with men's expectations or with religion
will your Majesty be able to decree, than that no one henceforth be permitted
to attack what has been determined by decrees which are Divine rather than
human, lest they be truly worthy but to lose GOD's gift, who have dared
to doubt concerning His Truth? 1st of Dec. in the consulship of the illustrious
Constantine and Rufus (457) Letter 158
TO THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF EGYPT SOJOURNING IN CONSTANTINOPLE. Leo to
the catholic Egyptian bishops sojourning in Constantinople. He encourages
them in their sufferings for the Faith, and in their entreaties for redress
to the Emperor. I have before now been so saddened by tidings of the crimes
committed in Alexandria, and my spirit has been so wounded by the atrocity
of the deed itself, that I know not what tears to show and what lamentation
to utter over it, and am fain to use the prophet's language, "who will give
waters to my head and a fountain of tears to my eyes?" Yet anticipating
your complaint, beloved, I have entreated our most clement and Christian
Emperor for a remedy of these great evils, and by our sons and assistants
Gerontius and Olympius have at a different time demanded that he should
make haste to purge of a heresy already condemned the church of that city,
in which so many Catholic teachers have flourished, and not allow murderous
spirits whom no reverence for place or times could deter from shedding their
ruler's blood, to gain anything from his clemency, more particularly when
they desire to reconsider the council of Chalcedon to the overthrow of the
Faith. 1st of Dec. in the consulship of Constantine and Rufus (457)
Letter 159
TO NICAETAS, BISHOP OF AQUILEIA. (Leo, the bishop, to Nicaetas, bishop of
Aquileia, greeting.) I. Prefatory My son Adeodatus, deacon of our See, on
returning to us has delivered your request, beloved, to receive from us the
authority of the Apostolic See upon matters which seem indeed to be hard
to decide, but which we must make provision for with a view to the necessities
of the times that the wounds which have been inflicted by the attacks of
the enemy may be healed chiefly by the agency of religion. II. About the
women who married again when their husbands were taken prisoners. As then
you say that through the disasters of war and through the grievous inroads
of the enemy families have in certain cases been so broken up that the husbands
have been carried off into captivity and their wives remain forsaken, and
these latter thinking their own husbands either dead or never likely to
be freed from their masters, have contracted another marriage under stress
of loneliness, and as, now that the state of things has im- 103 proved through
the Lord's help, some of those who were thought to have perished have returned,
you seem, dear brother, naturally to be in doubt what ought to be settled
by us about women thus joined to other husbands. But because we know it is
written that "a woman is joined to a man by God," and again, we are aware
of the precept that "what God hath joined, man may not put asunder," we are
bound to hold that the compact of the lawful marriage must be renewed, and
after the removal of the evils inflicted by the enemy, what each lawfully
had must be restored to him; and we must take every pains that each should
recover what is his own. 21st March, in the consulship of Majorian Augustus
(458) Letter
162 To Leo Augustus. By the hand of Philoxenus agens in rebus.
Leo the Bishop to Leo Augustus. I. The decrees of Chalcedon and Nicaea are
identical and final. With much joy my mind exults in the Lord, and great
is my cause for thankfulness, now that I perceive your clemency's most excellent
faith to be in all things enlarged by the gifts of heavenly grace, and I
experience by increased diligence the devotion of a priestly mind in you.
For in your Majesty's communications! it is beyond doubt revealed what the
Holy Spirit is working through you for the good of the whole Church, and
how greatly it is to be desired by the prayers of all the faithful that your
empire may be everywhere extended with glory, seeing that besides your care
for things temporal you so perseveringly exercise a religious foresight in
the service of what is divine and eternal: to wit that the catholic Faith,
which alone gives life to and alone in hallows mankind, may abide in the
one confession, and the dissensions which spring from the variety of earthly
opinions may be driven away, most glorious Emperor, from that solid Rock,
on which the city of God is built. 21st of March in the consulship of Leo
and Majorian Augusti (458) Letter 164 TO LEO
AUGUSTUS. Leo, the bishop, to Leo Augustus. I. He sends envoys but de
deprecates any fresh discussion of the Faith. Rejoicing that it has been
proved to me by 106 many clear proofs with what earnestness you consult the
interests of the universal Church, I have not delayed to obey your Majesty's
commands on the first opportunity, by despatching Domitian and Geminian my
brothers and fellow-bishops, who in furtherance of my earnest prayers, shall
entreat you for the peaceful acceptance of the gospel-teaching and obtain
the liberty of the Faith in which through the instruction of the Holy Spirit
you yourself are so conspicuously eminent, now that the enemies of Christ
are driven far away, who even if they had wished to conceal their madness,
could not lie hid, because the holy simplicity of the Lord's flock is very
different from the pretences of beasts who hide themselves in sheeps' clothing,
nor can they creep in by hypocrisy now that their exceeding madness has revealed
them. Recognize, therefore, august and venerable Emperor, how that you are
called by Divine providence to the guardianship of the whole world, and understand
what aid you owe to your Mother, the Church, who makes especial boast of
you. Disputes that are ended must not be allowed to rise with renewed vigour
against the triumphs of the Almighty's right hand, especially when this can
in no wise be allowed to heretics, whose attempts have long ago been condemned
and the labours of the faithful have a just claim to this result, that all
the fulness of the Church shall remain secure in the completeness of her
unity, and that nothing whatever of what has been well laid down shall be
reconsidered, because, after constitutions have been legitimately framed
under Divine guidance, to wish still to wrangle is the sign not of a peace-making
but of a rebellious spirit, as says the Apostle, "for to strive with words
is profitable for nothing, but for the subverting of them that hear'." 17th
of August, in the consulship of Leo and Majorian Augusti (458) Letter 166 Leo,
the bishop, to Neo, bishop of Ravenna, greeting. I. Those, who being taken
captives in infancy cannot remember or bring witnesses of their baptism,
must not be denied this sacrament. We have indeed frequently, God's Spirit
instructing us, steadied the brethren's hearts, when they were tottering
on the slippery places of doubtful questions, by formulating an answer either
out of the teaching of the Holy Scriptures or from the rules of the Fathers:
but lately in Synod a new and hitherto unheard-of subject of debate has arisen.
For at the instance of certain brethren we have discovered that some of the
prisoners of war, on their free return to their own homes, such to wit as
went into captivity at an age when they could have no sure knowledge of anything,
crave the healing waters of baptism, but in the ignorance of infancy cannot
remember whether they have received the mystery and rites of baptism, and
that therefore in this uncertainty of defective recollection their souls
are brought into jeopardy, so long as under a show of caution they are denied
a grace, which is withheld, because it is thought to have been bestowed.
And so, since certain brethren in a not unjustifiable fear have hesitated
to perform the rites of the Lord's mystery, at a synodal meeting, as we have
said, we have received a formal request for advice on this matter, and in
carefully discussing it, we have desired to weigh each members opinion, and
to handle it in so cautious a manner as to arrive with certainty at the truth
by making use of the knowledge of many. 24th of Oct., in the consulship of
Ms Majorian Augustus (458) Letter 167 To Rusticus,
Bishop of Gallia Narbonensis, with the Replied His Questions on Various Points.
Leo, the bishop, to Rusticus, bishop of Gallia Narbonensis. 109 1. He exhorts
him to act with moderation towards two bishops who have offended him. Your
letter, brother. which Hermes your archdeacon brought, I have gladly received;
the number of different matters it contains makes it indeed lengthy, but
not so tedious to me on a patient perusal that any point should be passed
over, amid the cares that press upon me from all sides. And hence having
grasped the gist of your allegation and reviewed what took place at the inquiry
of the bishops and leading men, we gather that Sabinian and Leo, presbyters,
lacked confidence in your action, and that they have no longer any just cause
for complaint, seeing that of their own accord they withdrew from the discussion
that had been begun. ... QUESTION XIX. Concerning those who after being
baptized in infancy were captured by the Gentiles, and lived with them after
the manner of the Gentiles, when they come back to Roman territory as still
young men, if they seek communion, what shall be done? REPLY. If they have
only lived with Gentiles and eaten sacrificial food, they can be purged by
fasting and laying on of hands, in order that for the future abstaining from
things offered to idols, they may be partakers of Christ's mysteries. But
if they have either worshipped idols or been polluted with manslaughter or
fornication, they must not be admitted to communion, except by public penance.
Letter 169
TO LEO AUGUSTUS. Leo, the bishop, to Leo Augustus. I. He heartily thanks
the Emperor far what he has done, and asks him to complete the work in any
way he can. If we should seek to reward your Majesty's glorious resolution
in defence of the Faith with all the praise that the greatness of the issue
demands, we should be found unequal to the task of giving thanks and celebrating
the joy of the universal Church with our feeble tongue. But His worthier
recompense awaits your acts and deserts, in whose cause you have shown so
excellent a zeal, and are now triumphing gloriously over the attainment of
the wished-for end. Your clemency must know therefore that all the churches
of GOD join in praising you and rejoicing that the unholy parricide has been
cast off from the neck of the Alexandrine church, and that GOD's people,
on whom the abominable robber has been so great a burden, restored to the
ancient liberty of the Faith, can now be recalled into the way of salvation
by the preaching of faithful priests, when it sees the whole hotbed of pestilence
done away with in the person of the originator himself. 17th of June, in
the consulship of Magnus and Apollonius (460). (By the hand of Philoxenus
agens in rebus.) Letter 171 Leo,
the bishop, to Timothy, catholic bishop of the church of Alexandria. I. He
congratulates him on his election, and bids him win back wanderers to the
fold. It is dearly apparent from the brightness of the sentiment quoted by
the Apostle, that "all things work together for good to them that love GOD,"
and by the dispensation of GOD's pity, where adversities are received, there
also prosperity is given. This the experience of the Alexandrine church shows,
in which the moderation and long suffering of the humble has laid up for
themselves great store in return for their patience: because "the LORD is
nigh them that are of a contrite heart, and shall save those that are humble
in spirit," our noble Prince's faith being glorified in all things, through
whom "the right-hand of the LORD hath done great acts," in preventing the
abomination of antichrist any longer occupying the throne of the blessed
Fathers; whose blasphemy has hurt no one more than himself, because although
he has induced some to be partners of his guilt, yet he has inexpiably stained
himself with blood.18th of August, in the consulship of Magnus and Apollonius
(460)
440 Sancti
Leónis Papæ Primi, cognoménto Magni, Confessóris
et Ecclésiæ Doctóris, cujus dies natális recólitur
quarto Idus Novémbris.
St. Leo the First, pope and confessor, who was surnamed the
Great. His birthday falls on the 10th of November.
In the Latin Church the
feast day of the great pope is held on 11 April, and in the Eastern Church
on 18 February.
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.
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Mary Mother of GOD
Saints of this Day November
10 Quarto Idus Novémbris.
With apparent strong conviction of the importance
of the Bishop of Rome in the Church, and of the Church as the ongoing sign
of Christ’s presence in the world, Leo the Great displayed endless dedication
as pope. 
Quote: Pope Paul VI’s 1969
Benedict XVI met with Aram
I Catholicos of Cilicia, the highest
authority of the Orthodox Church.
The Pope remembered
the martyrs of the Armenian Church and the Armenian
genocide, without explicitly mentioning
it, and denounced the persecution of Christians
in modern times. Benedict
XVI
As we watch the spectacle
of the world seeming to self-destruct
before our eyes, we can’t help but be
saddened and even frightened by so much
evil run rampant. Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan,
Somalia, North Korea—It is all a disaster of epic
proportions displayed in living color on our
television screens. 
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