|
CHRIST'S VICAR ON EARTH
8.
What then were the more notable achievements of his life? To this question We
would reply that rarely in her history has Christ's Church won such victories
over her foes as in the pontificate of Leo the Great. He shone in the middle of
the fifth century like a brilliant star in the Christian firmament.
The Pelagian and Nestorian Heresies
9.
To be convinced of this we have but to consider the way in which he discharged
his office as teacher of the Catholic Faith. In this field he won for himself a
name equal to that of St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Cyril of Alexandria. St. Augustine, as we know, in defending the
Faith against the Pelagians, insisted on the absolute necessity of divine grace
for right living and the attainment of eternal salvation. St. Cyril, faced with
the errors of Nestorius, upheld Christ's Divinity and the fact that the Virgin
Mary is truly the Mother of God. These truths lie at the very heart of our
Catholic Faith, and St. Leo, who entered into the doctrinal inheritance of both
these men of learning, the brightest luminaries of the Eastern and Western
Church, was among all his contemporaries by far the most fearless protagonist
of them.
Defender of Church Unity
10.
St. Augustine,
then, is celebrated in the universal Church as "Doctor of divine
grace," and St. Cyril as "Doctor of the Incarnate Word."; By the
same token St. Leo is universally proclaimed as "Doctor of the Church's
unity."
11.
For the integrity of doctrine was not his only concern. We have but to cast a
cursory glance over the great volume of evidence of his amazing industry as
pastor and writer to realize that he was equally concerned with the upholding
of moral standards and the defense of the Church's unity.
12.
Consider, too, the field of liturgical composition and the due regard which
this religious and saintly Pope had for the unity of worship. Many of the
principal prayers contained in the Leonine Sacramentary8 were
either written by him or modelled on his compositions.
On the Incarnation: His Letter to Flavian
13.
Most noteworthy, perhaps, is his timely and authoritative intervention in the
controversy as to whether there was in Jesus Christ a human nature in addition
to the divine nature. His efforts were responsible for the magnificent triumph
of the true doctrine concerning the incarnation of the Word of God. This fact
alone would assure him his place in history.
14.
Our principal evidence for it is his Epistle to Flavian, Bishop of
Constantinople, in which he expounds the dogma of the Incarnation with
remarkable clarity and precision, showing how it accords with the teaching of
the Prophets, the Gospel, the apostolic writings, and the Creed.9
15.
Let Us quote a significant passage from this Epistle: "Without detriment,
therefore, to the properties of either of the two natures and substances which
are joined in the one person, majesty took on humility; strength, weakness;
eternity, mortality; and, in order to pay off the debt which attached to our
condition, inviolable nature was united with passible nature, so that, as
suited the cure of our ills, one and the same Mediator between God and men, the
Man Jesus Christ, could die with the one nature and not die with the other.
Thus true God was born in the whole and perfect nature of true man; complete in
what was His own, complete in what was ours.''10
Condemnation of Ephesine Council
16.
Not content with this, St. Leo, having made perfectly clear "what the
Catholic Church universally believes and teaches concerning the mystery of the
Lord's incarnation,''11 followed up this Epistle to Flavian with a
condemnation of the Ephesine Council of 449. At this council the supporters of
Eutyches had, by violent and unconstitutional means, done all they could to
impose the groundless dogmatic assertions of this "very foolish and
exceedingly ignorant man,''12 who obstinately maintained that there was
only one nature in Christ, the divine nature.
17.
The Pope, with evident justification, branded this "a robber
council.''13 In violation of the express commands of the Apostolic See,
it had presumed by every means at its disposal to arrogate to itself no less a
task than "the breaking down of the Catholic Faith''14 and
"the strengthening of execrable heresy.''15
The Council of Chalcedon
18.
But St. Leo's principal title to fame is the Council of Chalcedon, held in 451.
In spite of pressure from the Emperor Marcian, the Pope refused to allow it to
be summoned except on condition that his own legates should preside over
it.16 It proved, Venerable Brethren, to be one of the greatest events
in the history of the Church, renowned alike for its solemn definition of the
doctrine of the two natures in God's Incarnate Word, and its recognition of the
magisterial primacy of the Roman Pontiff. We need not, however, enter into any
more detailed discussion of it here, for Our predecessor Pius XII has already
dealt with it in an important Encyclical addressed to the entire Catholic world
on the fifteenth centenary of its convocation.17
The Twenty-Eighth Canon
19.
St. Leo's delay in ratifying the acts of this council is further proof of his
genuine concern for the Church's unity and peace. We cannot attribute this
delay to any remissness on his part, or to any cause of a doctrinal character.
Obviously his intention-as he himself explains-was to thwart the twenty-eighth
canon, which voiced the agreement of the Fathers of the council to the primacy
of the See of Constantinople over all the churches of the East.
20.
Whether or not this canon was inserted in defiance of the protests of the papal
legates, or to win the favor of the Byzantine Emperor, is not clear. To St.
Leo, it appeared to undermine the prerogatives of other more ancient and more
illustrious churches, prerogatives which had been recognized by the Fathers of
the Council of Nicea. He also saw it as detracting somewhat from the authority
of the Apostolic See itself. His misgivings were occasioned not so much by the
wording of the twenty-eighth canon as by the policies of those who framed it.
21.
Two letters illustrate this point: one sent by the bishops of the
council,18 and the other written by Leo himself in refutation of their
arguments and sent to the Emperor Marcian. This letter contains the following
admonition:-
22.
"Things secular stand on a different basis from things divine, and there
can be no sure building save on that rock which the Lord has set as the
foundation (Matt. 16, 18). He who covets what is not his due, loses what is
rightfully his."19
23.
The sad history of the schism that was later to separate so many illustrious
Eastern churches from the church of Rome bears striking testimony to the
accuracy of St. Leo's prophetic vision, here expressed, and to his presentiment
of the future disruption of Christian unity.
Toward Full Catholic Unity
24.
To complete this account We would mention in passing two further instances of
St. Leo's unfailing solicitude for the defense of the Catholic Church's unity:
his intervention in the dispute concerning the date of Easter, and his great
efforts to create an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust and cordiality in the
Holy See's public relations with Christian princes. To see the Church at peace
was the dearest desire of his heart. He frequently prevailed upon these princes
to join forces with the bishops and lend them the support of their counsels
"for the concord of Catholic unity,"20 so as to win from
Almighty God "a priestly palm, besides a kingly crown."21
|