Saint Leo the Great

One of the greatest Popes to sit on the Chair of Peter was Leo I. At the death of Sixtus, Leo was the archdeacon of the Basilica of the Lateran. He was elected as the 45th Pope of the Church. At the time of his election he was not in Rome. He was in Gaul trying to settle some disputes between rival bishops. He was called back and consecrated on September 29, 440. He came from a Christian family in Tuscany.

One of the most controversial problems that faced the Church was heresy. Leo stood firm to defend the deposit offaith handed down to him from the Apostles.

Eutyches, the head of a large monastery in Constantinople taught that there was only one Nature in Christ. This was the beginning of the Monophysite heresy. The Third General Council of the Church, the Council of Chalcedon was called to settle this matter. Leo sent his representatives to this Council with a letter in which he categorically stated the true doctrine about the Nature of Christ. He taught that Jesus is One Divine Person with two Natures, Divine and Human, both present in their fullness, neither absorbing the other.

When this letter was read to the fathers of the Council, everyone stood up and declared, "Peter has spoken through Leo." This letter of Saint Leo remains even to this day as the accepted teaching about the Person of Jesus. Emperor Valentin­ian passed Ii decree in which he said that the whole Church should do nothing without the authority of the Roman Church. Leo took the title of Pontifex Maximus, a pagan title once given to the Roman Emperors.

It was during his time that the Vandal king, Genseric sacked Carthage and the neighbouring cities. Thousands of refugees flocked to Rome from Mrica. He received them all and went around Italy collecting alms for them.

The influx of refugees raised certain problems for Leo. Many of these were heretics belonging to the Manichean faith. They had very strange customs which scandalized the Roman Christians. For example it was their custom when a girl reached the age of puberty, she was taken to the public square where she was publicly violated by a youth. Leo took the matter into his own hands. He sat in judgment with the bishops and senators of Rome to punish publicly those who were responsible

for such crimes. At his request the emperor passed a law that forbade these heretics to own land or to work in the service of the government.

On November 10, 461, Leo died. He was buried in the Basilica of Saint Peter. He was given the title "The Great", and was added to the list of saints.