Pope Leo I

Leo the Great ( Pope Leo I.; * 400 either in Rome or - according to the Liber Pontificalis - in Tuscany, † November 10 461 ) was dated 29 September 440 until his death bishop of Rome. He defended the doctrine of the Catholic Church, in particular the Council of Chalcedon (451 ), also by fighting the Monophysites and Pelagians.

Life

He was probably first mentioned in a letter of St. Augustine, who speaks in one of his letters from an acolyte Leo. Secured is his work as a deacon under the Roman Popes Celestine I and Sixtus III. In this office he was instrumental in the solution of different church and state political issues, which earned him a good reputation among the clergy and the people of Rome and in the election of Bishop 440 a unanimous result.

Leo I was the most important Roman bishop of the 5th century. In his time the Roman primacy claim standing on its first climax. Leo I. grabs the title of Pontifex Maximus ( supreme bridge-builder = high priest ), but use it for non-exclusive ( as ) the Roman bishop, but speaks of Christ as the true, supreme pontiff or uses the term as a synonym for " bishops " (cf. va tr 5.3 ). Prosper of Aquitaine, however, Leo already referred to during his lifetime as " papa" and " summus sacerdos " ( high priest ) (chronic a 452). The transfer of the Pontifex Maximus title from the emperor to the pope is not Leo's work, but his teaching on the Petrine ministry and his practice as Pope deliver this important basics. Leo intervened in many church affairs in Italy, but also in Gaul, Spain and Greece. At the Council of Chalcedon in Rome was given only a certain precedence over the other major episcopal sees in the East ( Alexandria, Antioch and Constantinople Opel ). Important indeed was the theological contribution of Leo for his great encyclical, the so-called " Tome " ( Ep. 28).

Leo commented often on theological issues, fought by exiles and dismissals various competing doctrines within Christianity, as Monophysitism and Pelagianism. Leo sat in the west of the throbbing of alleged privileges Hilary of Arles ( 401-449 ) as Metropolitan of Arles from, reached by Valentinian III. the recognition of the primacy of Rome, when he equated the decretals with the imperial laws, and rejected the claim of Constantinople on equal status with Rome (451 ). When Rome was threatened in the year 452 by the Huns under Attila, Leo presented Mantua the Hunnish army under Attila opposed and prevented, probably by paying a high sum of money ( the exact background of this mission are in the research controversial ) an advance of the Huns in the direction of Rome. Three years later, he held the Vandal king Genseric an overly violence from when the sack of Rome.

Misleading is often to be found in the literature and especially on the Internet statement, Leo had 450 new (additional ) titulature papal patriarchal Occidentis for the papacy - Patriarch of the West - introduced. The title is in fact in a letter of the Emperor Theodosius II to Leo, who himself never used it or accepts. The letter of the Emperor is handed down under the letters of Leo. Pope Benedict XVI. has not led to the later familiar titles from 2006.

Under Leo's writings there are 97 sermons that focus on important doctrinal issues. His numerous letters ( about 146 real ones) provide information about church history questions of our time, not least through the preparation, execution and reception of the Council of Chalcedon, the largest and most important assembly of bishops of antiquity.

Leo's theology deals primarily with the question of the person of Christ and his mediation. This is linked to the Council of Chalcedon, on the behalf Leos some Roman legate Leo took part and its Christological formula Leo had prepared in his Tome ad Flavianum of 449 critical. As a result, Leo takes on many letters to bishops and members of the imperial family big impact on the implementation and reception of the faith of Chalcedon, in the East of the Roman Empire. His concern is to defend the true deity and true humanity of Christ against a heretical one-sidedness. In many sermons he takes up this theme and deepens own views here over the years. A central motif is in Leo the presence of Christ in the Church, more precisely, in the proclamation of faith ( Scripture and tradition and its interpretation ), in the liturgy ( sacraments and festivals), the life of the organized church and the individual believer, and in particular the Council. Leo makes a of the most significant contributions to the development of the doctrine of the papacy, marked by personal piety Peter and the reverence for the apostles in Rome in the 5th century 's own relationship to Peter is, inter alia, illuminated with terms of Roman law. Leo considered and referred to as ( derogatory ) heritage and deputy Peter, who holds the apostolic authority and is required to be a role model. Peter stands opposite him with his claim, on the other hand makes Leo the Apostles present, because he represents his authority. But always remain Christ the source of all grace and all authority, and Leo is responsible to him for his administration (see tr 1). Peter is the model of the relationship with Christ for Leo. From the unique relationship between Christ and Peter the office of Bishop of Rome is born with his whole church significance, although this relationship itself is unique and Leo just the counsel and example of Peter needs to exercise adequately the office of Bishop of Rome can.

Anniversaries

• Catholic: November 10 ( optional memorial )
• Evangelical: November 10
• Anglican: November 10
• Orthodox: February 18

Attribute: Dragon. He is the patron of singers, musicians and organists.

Expenditure

• Leo [ Papa, I. ]: [ All sermons ] Of Pope St. Leo the Great, Doctor of the Church and all the sermons in 2 volumes, Kösel -Verlag, Munich, 1927.