(A Latin Chalcedonian Doctor of the Church & Bishop of Rome)

Leo of Rome, surnamed the Great, was born in Tuscany around A.D. 400 and ruled as Bishop of Rome from 440 until his death in 461. Though corrupted by the trappings of the papacy—in that he is much looked upon as strengthening the Roman See to heights greater than that of his predecessors—yet in his doctrine concerning the Person of Christ, he stood as a bulwark against heresy in an age of perilous deviation. The Lord, who oftentimes useth even the instruments of corruption to manifest His glory, raised up Leo in a time when the Church groaned under the twin weights of ecclesiastical ambition and doctrinal confusion. Chief among his contributions was the famous Tome of Leo, a theological epistle so consonant with the apostolic faith that the Council of Chalcedon received it with cries that “Peter hath spoken by Leo.” In it, the true doctrine of our Lord’s hypostatic union was vigorously defended: that He is very God and very man, two natures in one Person, without confusion or division. Against the heresies of Eutyches and the arrogance of eastern patriarchs, Leo contended earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. While his pretensions to what may be early seeds of papalism are not to be commended—for Christ alone is Head of the Church, and not Peter nor his successors—yet Leo’s zeal for orthodoxy, his labors amidst Roman calamity, and his steadfastness before Attila the Hun manifest the courage of a pastor watchful over the Lord’s flock. His sermons, rich with Christological glory and exhortations to godliness, remain as monuments to the truth that even amidst Babylon, the Lord hath not left Himself without witness.

Leo of Rome, surnamed the Great, was born in Tuscany around A.D. 400 and ruled as Bishop of Rome from 440 until his death in 461. Though corrupted by the trappings of the papacy—in that he is much looked upon as strengthening the Roman See to heights greater than that of his predecessors—yet in his doctrine concerning the Person of Christ, he stood as a bulwark against heresy in an age of perilous deviation. The Lord, who oftentimes useth even the instruments of corruption to manifest His glory, raised up Leo in a time when the Church groaned under the twin weights of ecclesiastical ambition and doctrinal confusion. Chief among his contributions was the famous Tome of Leo, a theological epistle so consonant with the apostolic faith that the Council of Chalcedon received it with cries that “Peter hath spoken by Leo.” In it, the true doctrine of our Lord’s hypostatic union was vigorously defended: that He is very God and very man, two natures in one Person, without confusion or division. Against the heresies of Eutyches and the arrogance of eastern patriarchs, Leo contended earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. While his pretensions to what may be early seeds of papalism are not to be commended—for Christ alone is Head of the Church, and not Peter nor his successors—yet Leo’s zeal for orthodoxy, his labors amidst Roman calamity, and his steadfastness before Attila the Hun manifest the courage of a pastor watchful over the Lord’s flock. His sermons, rich with Christological glory and exhortations to godliness, remain as monuments to the truth that even amidst Babylon, the Lord hath not left Himself without witness.

Apologetical Works:

Concerning the Pelagian Heresy:

Leo the Great (c. 461) Concerning the Pelagian Heresy