Commemorated on February 18th
On his scroll: “The properties of the two natures, divine and human, thus remain entire but come together in one Person.”
In the days when the Church of the West was part of the indivisible Church, the Pope of Rome, as bishop of the old imperial city and Patriarch of the West, emjoyed a particular preeminence and was regagrded by all Christians as the prime guardian of the apostolic tradition and umpire in matters of dogma. Saint Leo occupied the see of Rome during one fo the most critical periods of history, which saw the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West and the Church threatened on all sides by heretics. He proclaimed the wholesome doctrine of the Truth, and did his utmost to preserve the unity of the Holy Church, for which he is justly venerated in both the East and West as Saint Leo the Great.
Saint Leo was born in Italy of noble and devout parents. He was first archdeacon with Pope Sixtus the Third, then elected against his own will to the papal throne after Sixtus's death. When Attila drew near to Rome with his Huns and prepared to ravage and bum the city, Leo went out to him in his episcopal vestments, tamed the wrath of the Hun leader and averted the fall of Rome. Attila was willing to be guided by Leo both because of his holiness and because of a vision he had of the Apostles Peter and Paul, standing behind Leo and threatening Attila with a flaming sword.
Leo not only saved Rome, he also contributed greatly to the safeguarding of Orthodoxy against the heresy of Eutyches and Dioscorus. This heresy consisted in the merging of the divine and human natures of Christ into one, and, following from this, the denial of the existence of two wills in the Person of our Lord and Saviour. After Saint Leo had carefully examined Eutyches’s teachings, he wrote an epistle to Saint Flavian, setting forth the Orthodox teaching of the person of Christ, and His two natures, and also counseling Flavian that, should Eutyches sincerely repent of his error, he should be received back with all good will.
It is said that Saint Leo composed this letter under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit after many days of fasting, vigil and prayer and that he then placed it on the tomb of Saint Peter, entreating the Prince of the Apostles to amend any error that might have crept in through human weakness. After 40 days, the holy apostle appeared to him at prayer and said, “I have read and I have corrected.” On opening the letter, Saint Leo did indeed find Saint Peter’s handwritten corrections.
Because Saint Leo had many cares in Rome owing to the wars of Attila the Hun and other barbarians, in 451 he sent four delegates to the Fourth Ecumenical Council, where 630 Fathers gathered in Chalcedon during the reign of Marcian, to condemn the teachings of Eutyches and those who supported him. Saint Leo’s epistle to Flavian was read at the Fourth Council, and was confirmed by the Holy Fathers as the Orthodox teaching on the incarnate person of our Lord; it is also called the “Tome of Leo.”
As death drew near, he spent forty days in fasting and prayer by the tomb of the Apostle Peter, begging him to tell him if his sins were forgiven. The Apostle appeared to him and assured him that they were, except for his sins in the ordaining of priests (from which it is seen how grave a sin it is to ordain an unworthy man). The saint fell to prayer again, until he was told that these also were wiped out. Then he gave his soul to the Lord in peace. St Leo entered into rest in the year 461.
