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