Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
Pope Saint Leo the Great: 'Christian, remember your dignity'
Pope Saint Leo was born around 400 in Tuscany. Pope Celestine I appointed him an archdeacon around 430. From his youth he was distinguished by such great erudition and diplomatic skills that even as an ordinary acolyte he was sent by the Pope to important missions. At his order, he went, among others with a confidential mission to St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. When he was on a peace mission in Gallia in 440, sent there by Empress Galla Placidia, he was elected pope after the death of Sixtus III. After returning to Rome, he was consecrated on September 29, 440, beginning his over 21 years of leadership of the Church.
His pontificate coincided with numerous theological disputes and confusion among the church hierarchy. He had to fight against numerous heresies and different tendencies undertaken by the bishops of North Africa and Gaul. It was then that Pelagius proclaimed that Christ did not bring redemption from sins at all, and Nestorius arguing that Jesus had two persons (dyoprosopism), the divine Logos and the human Jesu. Through his legates, he participated in the Council of Chalcedon (451), which established the most important elements of the Christological doctrine. In a dogmatic letter to the bishop of Constantinople, the so-called "Volume to Flavian", read in Chalcedon, Leo I developed the doctrine of the two natures in Christ. The Council of Chalcedon adopted the faith in one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably, forming one person.
The Confession of Chalcedon provides a clear statement on the two natures of Christ, human and divine:
“We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach people to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body; consubstantial [co-essential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; (ἐν δύο φύσεσιν ἀσυγχύτως, ἀτρέπτως, ἀδιαιρέτως, ἀχωρίστως – in duabus naturis inconfuse, immutabiliter, indivise, inseparabiliter) the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person (prosopon) and one Subsistence (hypostasis), not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten God (μονογενῆ Θεόν), the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.”
The Council Fathers accepted this text by acclamation, and we know from the preserved documents that they exclaimed then: "Peter spoke through Leo's mouth".
Pope Leo introduced the principle of the Church's liturgical, canonical and pastoral unity. During his time, the first editorial offices of the official collections of liturgical prayers in Latin were created. He linked the liturgy with everyday Christian life; e.g. practice fasting with mercy and alms giving. He taught that the Christian liturgy is not a memory of past events, but the making of an invisible reality. In one of the speeches he emphasized that the Passover can be celebrated in any period of the year "not as something that has passed away, but rather as an event today".
Leo contributed to the recognition of the primacy of the Holy See both by the Western Emperor Valentinian III and by Constantinople. Emperor Valentinian III (425-455) issued an edict stating that the decrees of the Holy See must be considered law; it meant the jurisdictional primacy of the Roman bishop. He defended Italy and Rome against barbarian invasions. He rode out to meet Attila, king of the Huns and his troops, stopped their march and made them retreat (452). Three years later he entered into negotiations with Genseric, king of the Vandals, standing at the gates of Rome. Unfortunately, the king, failing to keep his contract, plundered the Eternal City. This pope was also famous for his charity work and a strong opposition to pagan practices or the influence of the Manichaean sect.
Leo was a defender of Western culture. He was the first pope to be named "Great". He died on November 10, 461 in Rome. He was buried in the portico of St. Peter. About 150 letters and almost 100 speeches delivered to the inhabitants of Rome during various holidays have been preserved. They allow us to get to know the theological knowledge of the pope and the liturgical life of that time. In 1754, Benedict XIV proclaimed him a doctor of the Church. He is the patron saint of musicians and singers.
Christian, remember your dignity
One of his most famous speeches is the sermon on the Nativity of Jesus, in which he appealed: " Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition. Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom.
Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ. (The Liturgy of the Hours, First Volumes, p. 405)
Until Tomorrow
fr. george