Pope Leo the Great – Faith as an Empire Fell

Miniature of Pope Leo I the Great, Vatican Library, Author Wlbw68
(CC BY-SA 4.0 International)

The once powerful Roman Empire was coming to an end — its culture decadent, its institutions crumbling, its leadership corrupt, its borders breached [1].  Such was the world into which the future Pope Leo the Great was born [2][3][4][5][6].

A Servant of God’s People

Brilliant and well-educated, Pope Leo I was a Roman aristocrat and respected church deacon, unanimously elected to the papacy in 440 AD.

We know from the 143 letters and 96 sermons he left behind that Pope Leo I viewed himself as the servant of God’s people and privileged to fill the shoes of the Apostle Peter.

In the absence of social services, he used the papal treasury to feed the poor and care for the sick.  With Roman infrastructure in disrepair, he contributed to the defense of Rome by repairing walls and roads.

A Courageous Leader

When in 452 AD Attila the Hun and his hoards approached Rome intent on pillaging the city, it was Pope Leo I who rode out to meet them unarmed.  Without political authority or military support, Pope Leo I made a moral appeal to the barbarian.

Though few details are known, Pope Leo I is thought perhaps to have offered Attila money.  An experienced negotiator, he may, also, have pointed out to Attila the nearby areas decimated by malaria or plague.

Legend has it that Attila saw a vision which filled him with fear.  In any case, the “scourge of God” turned away from Rome [7].

An Opponent of Heresy

“He that sees another in error and endeavors not to correct it, testifies himself to be in error.”

– Pope Leo I

Pope Leo I worked tirelessly to oppose heresies endangering the unity of the church.

These included Pelagianism (the belief, not unfamiliar today, that man can perfect himself without the assistance of God’s grace), and Manichaeism (a dualistic religious system with pagan and Gnostic elements which dismissed the value of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross) [8][9].

The Voice of Peter

“…lowliness was assumed by majesty, weakness by power, mortality by eternity…”

– Pope Leo I, The Tome [10A]

Refuting Eutychianism (a heresy which denied the humanity of Christ), Pope Leo I explained in The Tome that Christ is one Person with two natures; that He is both fully human and fully divine [10B][11][12].

When The Tome was read aloud at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD it was universally hailed.  One bishop there exclaimed, “Peter has spoken through the mouth of Leo!”

An Example for Today

“Christian, remember your dignity…Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom.”

– Pope Leo I

A giant in his day, Pope Leo I well deserves the title “the Great”.  During his tenure, he served as a shepherd to the church and the people of Rome, saved the city from marauders, resisted heresy, and helped clarify our understanding of Christ.

But Pope Leo I has relevance for our own day, as well.

We, too, live at a time of chaos and confusion.  Our formerly Christian nation is rapidly destroying itself with materialism and Woke culture [13].  Our institutions are being dismantled before our eyes.  Pagan beliefs have resurfaced.

Meanwhile, our leaders are wholly self-absorbed, and our borders daily overrun by illegal immigrants, drug smugglers, and human traffickers.

In the face of this we must remember that we are Christians, clothed with the dignity of Christ.  Adopted sons and daughters of the Father, we are living vessels of the Holy Spirit through our union with Christ.

Our nation may be as doomed as ancient Rome was.  But our faith must not falter.  Pope Leo I’s never did.

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[1]  Wikipedia, “Fall of the Western Roman Empire”,

[2]  Wikipedia, “Pope Leo I”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_I.

[3]  Britannica, “Saint Leo I”, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Leo-I.

[4]  EWTN, “Doctors of the Church:  Pope St. Leo I the Great”, https://ondemand.ewtn.com/free/Home/Play/en/TDT18003.

[5]  Catholic Online, “St. Leo the Great”, https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=299.

[6]  Catholic News Herald, “St. Leo the Great:  Bishop of Rome:  Feast day:  Nov. 10”, 5/23/16, https://catholicnewsherald.com/faith/189-news/faith/faith-nov/128-st-leo-the-great-bishop-of-rome-feast-day-nov-10.

[7]  Three years later, when the Vandals under Geiseric threatened Rome, it was Pope Leo I who reached an agreement that they would not torch the city, rape or kill its inhabitants.  After the Vandals had looted Rome, Pope Leo I used church funds to ransom many of the men and women taken to Africa as slaves.

[8]  Wikipedia, “Pelagianism”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelagianism.

[9]  Wikipedia, “Jesus in Manichaeism”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_Manichaeism.

[10A and 10B]  Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL), “The Tome of St. Leo”, https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.xi.vii.html.

[11]  Wikipedia, “Leo’s Tome”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo%27s_Tome.

[12]  Ligonier, “The Eutychian Heresy”, https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/eutychian-heresy.

[13]  Wikipedia, “Woke”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke.

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