On February 18, the Orthodox Church honors one of the brightest defenders of Christianity – Saint Leo, Pope of Rome, synonymous with unwavering faith and spiritual power that changed history. St. Leo remains in history as one of the most influential popes of late antiquity.
The Pope who stood against the barbarians
Saint Leo, who ruled the Roman Church between 440 and 461, remains in history as one of the most influential popes of late antiquity. He was a man of his word – educated, consistent and firm in defending Orthodox doctrine. In the turbulent times of heresies and schism, he became a pillar of dogmatic clarity, especially in the dispute over the nature of Jesus Christ. His letter to Patriarch Flavian, in which he clearly formulated the doctrine of the Divine and human nature of the Savior, became the basis for the decisions of the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon.
But Leo the Great was not only a theologian. He was also a diplomat and a statesman at a time when the Western Roman Empire was crumbling under the pressure of barbarian tribes. In 452, he personally confronted the fearsome Attila. According to tradition, it was the power of his words – and some add God’s intervention – that stopped the Hun leader at the threshold of Rome. Three years later, Leo managed to convince the Vandal leader Genseric to spare the city from massacres and fires.
These two meetings turned the pope into a symbol of spiritual authority that prevailed over brute force. That is why the Church calls him “Great” – a title that few bear.
To this day, about a hundred of his sermons and over 140 letters have been preserved – testimony to the scale of his mission. His relics rest in the Vatican Basilica, in a chapel bearing his name.
