Doctors of the Church: St. Leo the Great

Saint Leo The Great

Birthdate Unknown- Died 461

Feast Day: November 10

Leo the Great was recognized as a peacemaker and unifier during an age where the Church and its people were in desperate need of both. The decaying Roman empire was in a state of collapse, leaving room for many forms of heresy to spread and barbarian armies to infiltrate. Leo faced these challenges head on.

“Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife”

Leo was a Deacon resolving a dispute in Gaul for the Imperial Court in 440 when Pope Sixtus III passed and Leo was chosen successor.

Leo’s writing on the Incarnation, originally recorded in a letter to the Patriarch of Constantinople, was adopted as official doctrine of the Church at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. His teaching on the human and divine nature of Christ is captured in his famous quotation:

“It is one in the same Son of God Who exists in both natures, taking what is ours to himself without losing what is His own.”

This thinking, and Leo’s persuasive abilities were used to combat heresies such as Pelagianism (denying original sin, redemption through Christ and the origin of grace from God) and Manichaeism (combining elements of Christianity, Dualism, Buddhism and Babylonian folklore) to further his objective of unity for the Church.

Leo continued to add discipline and depth to his teaching by explaining the importance of Christ’s passion through his writings and many sermons (nearly 100 of which are still preserved today).

“No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ.”

“Our sharing in the Body and Blood of Christ has no other purpose than to transform us into that which we receive”

Leo is also famous for using his persuasive abilities to avoid the ravages of attack by brutal enemies. He traveled unarmed to meet the notorious Attila the Hun and somehow convinced him to withdraw the armies advancing on Rome. Raphael’s fresco depicting the meeting is located at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.

Similarly, Leo convinced the Vandal Gaiseric not to burn Rome at the conclusion of their pillage in 455. Upon their departure, Leo actively aided those who were devastated by the ransacking and those who lost loved ones to captivity by the perpetrators.

Leo’s faith, strength, disciple and administrative talents kept the Church unified through the collapse of Rome and positioned it as one of the most influential institutions of the medieval world. 

Reflections

• How can I focus on ways to use my talents to aid our community?
• How can faith lift me to take on the challenges of our times?
• How do I fearlessly get involved so my good intentions can affect positive change?

Carl Casareto
Faith Formation Commission Member