Pope Leo I

Pope Leo I (c. 400 – 10 November 461), also known as Leo the
Pope Saint
Great,[1] was Bishop of Rome[2] from 29 September 440 until his
death. Leo I
Bishop of Rome
Leo was a Roman aristocrat, and was the first pope to have been
called "the Great". He is perhaps best known for having met Attila
the Hun in 452 and persuaded him to turn back from his invasion
of Italy. He is also a Doctor of the Church, most remembered
theologically for issuing the Tome of Leo, a document which was
a major foundation to the debates of the Council of Chalcedon, the
fourth ecumenical council. That meeting dealt primarily with
Christology and elucidated the orthodox definition of Christ's
being as the hypostatic union of two natures, divine and human,
united in one person, "with neither confusion nor division". It was
followed by a major schism associated with Monophysitism,
Miaphysitism and Dyophysitism.[3] He also contributed
significantly to developing ideas of papal authority.

Early life
Miniature which depicts Leo I,
According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was a native of Tuscany. contained in the Menologion of
By 431, as a deacon, he was sufficiently well known outside of Basil II (c. 1000 AD, Vatican Library)
Rome that John Cassian dedicated to him the treatise against Church Catholic Church
Nestorius written at Leo's suggestion. About this time Cyril of
Alexandria appealed to Rome regarding a jurisdictional dispute Papacy began 29 September
with Juvenal of Jerusalem, but it is not entirely clear whether the 440
letter was intended for Leo, in his capacity of archdeacon,[4] or for Papacy ended 10 November 461
Pope Celestine I directly.
Predecessor Sixtus III
Near the end of the reign of Pope Sixtus III, Leo was dispatched at Successor Hilarius
the request of Emperor Valentinian III to settle a dispute between Personal details
Aëtius, one of Gaul's chief military commanders, and the chief
magistrate Albinus. Johann Peter Kirsch sees this commission as a Born Leo
proof of the confidence placed in the able deacon by the Imperial c. 400 AD
Court.[5] Tuscany, Western
Roman Empire

Papacy Died 10 November 461

(aged 60 – 61)
During Leo's absence in Gaul, Pope Sixtus III died (11 August Rome, Western
440), and on 29 September he was unanimously elected by the Roman Empire
people to succeed him.[5] Soon after assuming the papal throne Sainthood
Leo learned that in Aquileia, Pelagians were received into church
communion without formal repudiation of their errors; he censured Feast day 10 November
11 April (pre-1969
calendar)
this practice and directed that a provincial synod be held where 18 February
such former Pelagians be required make an unequivocal (Eastern
abjuration.[5] Orthodoxy)

Manichaeans fleeing the Vandals had come to Rome in 439 and Venerated in Catholic Church
secretly organized there; Leo learned of it around 443, and Eastern Orthodox
proceeded against them by holding a public debate with their Church
representatives, burning their books and writing letters of warning
to the Italian bishops. His attitude was as decided against the Anglican
Priscillianists. Bishop Turibius of Astorga, astonished at the spread Communion
of the sect in Spain, had addressed the other Spanish bishops on Attributes Papal vestments
the subject, sending a copy of his letter to Leo, who took the
opportunity to write an extended treatise (21 July 447) against the Papal tiara
sect, examining its false teaching in detail and calling for a Spanish Staff
general council to investigate whether it had any adherents in the
Theological work
episcopate.[6]
Era Post-Nicene
From a pastoral perspective, he galvanized charitable works in a Language Latin
Rome beset by famines, an influx of refugees, and poverty. He
further associated the practice of fasting with charity and Tradition or Chalcedonism
almsgiving particularly on the occasion of the Quattro tempora, movement
(the quarterly Ember days).[4] It was during Leo's papacy that the Main interests Christology
term "Pope", which previously meant any bishop, came to Notable ideas Chalcedonian
exclusively mean the Bishop of Rome.[7] Definition
Other popes named Leo
Papal authority
Leo the Great
Leo drew many learned men about him and chose Prosper of
Aquitaine to act in some secretarial or notarial capacity.[4] Leo was
a significant contributor to the centralisation of spiritual authority
within the Church and in reaffirming papal authority. In 450, the
Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, in a letter to Pope Leo I, was
the first to call the Bishop of Rome the Patriarch of the West, a title
that would continue to be used by the popes up until as recently as
2006.

Various regional matters

On several occasions, Leo was asked to arbitrate disputes in Gaul.

Patroclus of Arles (d. 426) had received from Pope Zosimus the
recognition of a subordinate primacy over the Gallican Church
which was strongly asserted by his successor Hilary of Arles. An
appeal from Chelidonius of Besançon gave Leo the opportunity to
assert the pope's authority over Hilary, who defended himself
stoutly at Rome, refusing to recognize Leo's judicial status. Feeling
that the primatial rights of the bishop of Rome were threatened, Saint Leo Magnus, painting
Leo appealed to the civil power for support and obtained, from by Francisco Herrera the Younger
Valentinian III, a decree of 6 June 445, which recognized the (17th century, Prado Museum, Madrid)
primacy of the bishop of Rome based on the merits of Peter, the Confessor, Doctor of the Church,
dignity of the city, and the legislation of the First Council of
Teacher of the Faith, Holy
Nicaea; and provided for the forcible extradition by provincial Hierarch, Bishop of Rome,
governors of any bishop who refused to answer a summons to Roman Pope
Rome.[8] Faced with this decree, Hilary submitted to the pope, Residence Rome
although under his successor, Ravennius, Leo divided the
metropolitan rights between Arles and Vienne (450). Honored in Catholic Church
Eastern Orthodox
In 445, Leo disputed with Church
Patriarch Dioscorus, Cyril Anglican
of Alexandria's successor Communion
as Patriarch of Alexandria, Lutheranism
insisting that the
ecclesiastical practice of his Major shrine Saint Peter's
see should follow that of basilica
Rome on the basis that Feast 10 November
Mark the Evangelist, the 3 (or 2) March
disciple of Peter the
Apostle and the founder of Influences Augustine of Hippo
the Alexandrian Church,
could have had no other tradition than that of the prince of the
apostles.[9]

The fact that the African province of Mauretania Caesariensis had

Priest celebrating Mass at the Altar been preserved to the empire and thus to the Nicene faith during the
of Leo the Great with the Fuga Vandal invasion and, in its isolation, was disposed to rest on outside
d'Attila relief by Alessandro Algardi in support, gave Leo an opportunity to assert his authority there. In
St. Peter's Basilica 446 he wrote to the Church in Mauretania in regard to a number of
questions of discipline, stressing the point that laymen were not to
be appointed to the episcopate.[6]

In a letter to the bishops of Campania, Picenum, and Tuscany (443) he required the observance of all his
precepts and those of his predecessors; and he sharply rebuked the bishops of Sicily (447) for their
deviation from the Roman custom as to the time of baptism, requiring them to send delegates to the Roman
synod to learn the proper practice.

Because of the earlier line of division between the western and eastern parts of the Roman Empire, Illyria
was ecclesiastically subject to Rome. Pope Innocent I had constituted the metropolitan of Thessalonica his
vicar, in order to oppose the growing influence of the patriarch of Constantinople in the area. In a letter of
about 446 to a successor bishop of Thessalonica, Anastasius, Leo reproached him for the way he had
treated one of the metropolitan bishops subject to him; after giving various instructions about the functions
entrusted to Anastasius and stressing that certain powers were reserved to the pope himself, Leo wrote:
"The care of the universal Church should converge towards Peter's one seat, and nothing anywhere should
be separated from its Head."[10]

He succeeded in having an imperial patriarch, Timothy Salophakiolos, and not Timotheus Aelurus, chosen
as Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria on the murder of Greek Patriarch Proterius of Alexandria.[5]

Writings
Almost 100 sermons and 150 letters of Leo I have been preserved.

Tome

At the Second Council of Ephesus in 449, Leo's representatives

delivered his famous Tome,[11] a statement of the faith of the
Roman Church in the form of a letter addressed to Archbishop
Flavian of Constantinople, which repeats, in close adherence to
Augustine of Hippo, the formulas of western Christology. The
council did not read the letter nor did it pay any attention to the
protests of Leo's legates but deposed Flavian and Eusebius of
Dorylaeum, who appealed to Rome. That is one reason that the
council was never recognized as ecumenical and was later
repudiated by the Council of Chalcedon.

It was presented again at the subsequent Council of Chalcedon as

offering a solution to the Christological controversies still raging Sermones
between East and West.[12]

Council of Chalcedon

Eutyches, in the beginning of the conflict, appealed to Leo and took refuge with him on his condemnation
by Flavian, but on receiving full information from Flavian, Leo took his side decisively. Leo demanded of
the emperor that an ecumenical council should be held in Italy, and in the meantime, at a Roman synod in
October 449, repudiated all the decisions of the "Robber Synod". In his letters to the emperor and others he
demanded the deposition of Eutyches as a Manichaean and Docetic heretic.

The Council of Chalcedon of 451 rejected the heresy of Eutyches who denied the true human nature of the
Son of God, and affirmed the union in his one Person, without confusion and without separation, of his two
natures, human and divine.

The acts of the council report:

"After the reading of the foregoing epistle, the most reverend bishops cried out: This is the
faith of the fathers, this is the faith of the Apostles. So we all believe, thus the orthodox
believe. Anathema to him who does not thus believe. Peter has spoken thus through Leo. So
taught the Apostles. Piously and truly did Leo teach, so taught Cyril. Everlasting be the
memory of Cyril. Leo and Cyril taught the same thing, anathema to him who does not so
believe. This is the true faith. Those of us who are orthodox thus believe. This is the faith of
the fathers. Why were not these things read at Ephesus? These are the things Dioscorus hid
away."[13][14][15]
Leo firmly declined to confirm their disciplinary arrangements, which seemed to allow Constantinople a
practically equal authority with Rome and regarded the civil importance of a city as a determining factor in
its ecclesiastical position; but he strongly supported its dogmatic decrees, especially when, after the
accession of Leo I (457), there seemed to be a disposition toward compromise with the Eutychians.

Teaching on Christ

Leo's writings (both the sermons and the letters) are mostly concerned with theological questions
concerning the person of Jesus Christ (Christology) and his role as mediator and savior (Soteriology),
which is partially connected to the Council of Chalcedon in which Roman legates participated in Leo's
name. Subsequently, through numerous letters addressed to bishops and members of the imperial family,
Leo incessantly worked for the propagation and universal reception of the faith in Christ as defined by
Chalcedon, also in the eastern part of the Roman empire. Leo defends the true divinity and the true
humanity of the one Christ against heretical one-sidedness. He takes up this topic also in many of his
sermons, and over the years, he further develops his own original concepts. A central idea around which
Leo deepens and explains his theology is Christ's presence in the Church, more specifically in the teaching
and preaching of the faith (Scripture, Tradition and their interpretation), in the liturgy (sacraments and
celebrations), in the life of the individual believer and of the organized Church, especially in a council.

To Leo the Great, Mariology is determined by Christology. If Christ were divine only, everything about
him would be divine. Only his divinity would have been crucified, buried and resurrected. Mary would
only be the mother of God, and Christians would have no hope for their own resurrection. The nucleus of
Christianity would be destroyed.[16] The most unusual beginning of a truly human life through her was to
give birth to Jesus, the Lord and Son of King David.[17]

Heir of Peter

Leo assumed the papacy at a time of increasing barbarian invasions; this, coupled with the decreasing
imperial authority in the West, forced the Bishop of Rome to take a more active part in civil and political
affairs. He was one of the first bishops of Rome to promote papal primacy based on succession from Peter
the Apostle; and he did so as a means of maintaining unity among the churches.[18]

Besides recourse to biblical language, Leo also described his own special relationship with Peter in terms
derived from Roman law. He called himself the (unworthy) heir and deputy (vicarius) of Peter, having
received his apostolic authority and being obliged to follow his example. On the one hand, Peter stood
before him with a claim on how Leo is to exercise his office; on the other hand, Leo, as the Roman bishop,
represented the Apostle, whose authority he held. Christ, however, always comes out as the source of all
grace and authority, and Leo is responsible to him for how he fulfilled his duties (sermon 1). Thus, the
office of the Roman bishop was grounded on the special relationship between Christ and Peter, a
relationship that cannot be repeated per se; therefore, Leo depended on Peter's mediation, his assistance and
his example in order to be able to adequately fulfill his role and exercise his authority as the Bishop of
Rome, both in the city and beyond.

Leo and Attila

After the indecisive outcome of the Battle of Chalons in 451, Attila invaded Italy in 452, sacking cities such
as Aquileia and heading for Rome. He allegedly demanded that the sister of the reigning Emperor
Valentinian III be sent to him with a dowry. In response, the emperor sent three envoys to negotiate with
Attila: Gennadius Avienus, one of the consuls of 450, Memmius Aemilius Trygetius, the former urban
prefect, and Leo. Little is known of the specifics of the negotiations, as a result of which Attila withdrew.
Most ancient and medieval historians celebrated Leo's
actions, giving him all the credit for this successful embassy.
According to Prosper of Aquitaine, who was alive at the time
of the event, Attila was so impressed by Leo that he
withdrew.[19] Another near-contemporary was the historian
Priscus who records that Attila was dissuaded from attacking
Rome by his own men because they feared he would share
the fate of the Visigothic king Alaric, who died shortly after
sacking the city in 410.[20] Paul the Deacon, in the late 8th
century, relates that an enormously huge man dressed in Raphael's The Meeting between Leo the
priestly robes and armed with a sword, visible only to Attila, Great and Attila depicts Leo, escorted by
threatened him and his army with death during his discourse Saint Peter and Saint Paul, meeting with
with Leo, and this prompted Attila to submit to his the Hun king outside Rome
request.[21]

Writing in the early 20th century, the religious skeptic John B. Bury remarked:

The fact of the embassy cannot be doubted. The distinguished ambassadors visited the Hun's
camp near the south shore of Lake Garda. It is also certain that Attila suddenly retreated. But
we are at a loss to know what considerations were offered him to induce him to depart. It is
unreasonable to suppose that this heathen king would have cared for the thunders or
persuasions of the Church. The Emperor refused to surrender Honoria, and it is not recorded
that money was paid. A trustworthy chronicle hands down another account which does not
conflict with the fact that an embassy was sent, but evidently furnishes the true reasons which
moved Attila to receive it favourably. Plague broke out in the barbarian host and their food ran
short, and at the same time troops arrived from the east, sent by Marcian to the aid of Italy. If
his host was suffering from pestilence, and if troops arrived from the east, we can understand
that Attila was forced to withdraw. But whatever terms were arranged, he did not pretend that
they meant a permanent peace. The question of Honoria was left unsettled, and he threatened
that he would come again and do worse things in Italy unless she were given up with the due
portion of the Imperial possessions.[22]

Leo's intercession could not prevent the sack of the city by the Vandal King Genseric in 455, but murder
and arson were repressed by his influence. The Pope and members of his clergy, went to meet the invader
to implore him to desist. While the Vandals plundered the city, the gesture nevertheless prevented Rome
from being burned and assured that the Basilicas of St Peter, St Paul and St John, in which part of the
terrified population sought refuge, were spared. Leo assisted in rebuilding the city of Rome, restoring key
places such as Saint Peter's.[23]

On the fundamental dignity of Christians

In his In Nativitate Domini, Christmas Day, sermon, "Christian, remember your dignity", Leo articulates a
fundamental dignity common to all Christians, whether saints or sinners, and the consequent obligation to
live up to it:

Our Saviour, dearly-beloved, was born today: let us be glad. For there is no proper place for
sadness, when we keep the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and
brings to us the joy of promised eternity. No one is kept from sharing in this happiness. There
is for all one common measure of joy, because as our Lord the destroyer of sin and death finds
 none free from charge, so is He come to free us all. Let the saint exult in that he draws near to
victory. Let the sinner be glad in that he is invited to pardon. Let the gentile take courage in
that he is called to life...
Let us put off then the old man with his deeds: and having obtained a share in the birth of
Christ let us renounce the works of the flesh. Christian, acknowledge thy dignity, and
becoming a partner in the Divine nature, refuse to return to the old baseness by degenerate
conduct. Remember the Head and the Body of which thou art a member. Recollect that thou
wert rescued from the power of darkness and brought out into God’s light and kingdom. By
the mystery of Baptism thou wert made the temple of the Holy Ghost: do not put such a
denizen to flight from thee by base acts, and subject thyself once more to the devil’s thraldom:
because thy purchase money is the blood of Christ, because He shall judge thee in truth Who
ransomed thee in mercy, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.[24]

Death and burial

Leo died on 10 November 461 and, as he wished to be buried as close as possible to the tomb of St Peter,
his body was entombed within the portico of Old St. Peter's Basilica.[25]: 11 He was the first pope to be
buried within St. Peter's.[25]: 11 In 688, Pope Sergius I had Leo's remains moved to the south transept,
inside the basilica. The relocation was apparently due to the number of later papal burials obscuring the
prominence that Sergius believed Leo's tomb should have.[25]: 40

Significance
Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo's papacy was "undoubtedly one of the most important in the Church's
history".[26]

In 1754 Pope Benedict XIV proclaimed Leo I a Doctor of the Church.[26][5] Next to Leo only one other
pope, Gregory I, is also recognized as Doctor of the Church.[27]

The Catholic Church marks 10 November as the feast day of Saint Leo, given in the Martyrologium
Hieronymianum and the 8th-century Calendar of Saint Willibrord as the date of his death and entry to
heaven. His feast was once celebrated in Rome on 28 June, the anniversary of the placing of his relics in
Saint Peter's Basilica, but in the 12th century, the Gallican Rite feast of 11 April was admitted to the
General Roman Calendar, which maintained that date until 1969.[28] Some traditionalist Catholics continue
to observe pre-1970 versions of that calendar.

The Eastern Catholic Churches as well as the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrate Saint Leo on 18
February.

Leo the Great is honored in the Church of England and in the Episcopal Church on 10 November.[29][30]

Feast Day
18 February – commemoration by Eastern Orthodox Church,[31]
28 June – commemoration of translation of relics in 688 by Sergius I,[32]
10 November – main commemoration (death anniversary),[33]
12 November – commemoration by Eastern Orthodox Church,[31]
 13 or 14 November – main commemoration (Diocese of Solsona),[34][35]

Hymns
Troparion (Tone 3)

You were the Church's instrument

in strengthening the teaching of true doctrine;
you shone forth from the West like a sun dispelling the errors of the heretics.
Righteous Leo, entreat Christ God to grant us His great mercy.

Troparion (Tone 8)

O Champion of Orthodoxy, and teacher of holiness,

The enlightenment of the universe and the inspired glory of true believers.
O most wise Father Leo, your teachings are as music of the Holy Spirit for us!
Pray that Christ our God may save our souls!

Kontakion (Tone 3)

Seated upon the throne of the priesthood, glorious Leo,

you shut the mouths of the spiritual lions.
With divinely inspired teachings of the honored Trinity,
you shed the light of the knowledge of God up-on your flock.
Therefore, you are glorified as a divine initiate of the grace of God.

See also
Biography portal

Christianity portal

History portal

Christology
List of 10 longest-reigning popes
List of Eastern Orthodox saints
List of popes

References
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7. Asimov, Isaac (1967) The Roman Empire, Houghton Mifflin: Boston, p. 236
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9. Bright, W (1911). "Dioscorus (1), patriarch of Alexandria" (https://www.ccel.org/ccel/wace/bio
dict.html?term=Dioscorus%20(1),%20patriarch%20of%20Alexandria). In Wace, Henry (ed.).
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John Murray. p. 266. Retrieved 2 August 2021. "We find him, [Dioscorus] ... in
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to believe that St. Mark formed his rules for Alexandria otherwise than on the Petrine model"
(Ep. 11)" This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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Second Series, Vol. 12. Edited by (Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, eds.) Buffalo, NY:
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ff/npnf214.xi.vii.html). Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
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Vol XIV edition by H.R. Percival. Medieval Sourcebook, Fordham University (https://sourceb
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13. Acts of the Council, Session II (continued) (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/chalcedon.
html)
14. Evans, G.R. (2004). First Christian Theologians (https://books.google.com/books?id=y3UvK
wvmzEIC&pg=PA246). The Great Theologians. Wiley. p. 246. ISBN 978-0-631-23188-2.
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ww.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.xi.viii.html). Archived from the original (http://www.ccel.org/c
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chive.org/web/20170916205934/https://zenit.org/articles/pope-leo-the-great-defended-the-pr
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20. Priscus, activeth century; Given, John (2014). The fragmentary history of Priscus : Attila, the
Huns and the Roman Empire, AD 430-476. Merchantville NJ. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-935228-
14-1. OCLC 891001451 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/891001451).
21. Paul the Deacon, Historia Romana 14.12
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chicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/BURLAT/9*.html#4)
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49). The Early Church Fathers. Taylor & Francis. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-135-28408-4.
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Grand Rapids, Michigan). Another translation is available at William Bright, trans. and
comm., Select Sermons of S. Leo the Great on the Incarnation, with his 28th Epistle, Called
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e.org/details/selectsermonsofs00leoiuoft) and [3] (https://openlibrary.org/works/OL2933329
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25. Reardon, Wendy J. (2004). The deaths of the popes: Comprehensive accounts, including
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cfarlandbooks.com/product/the-deaths-of-the-popes/). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co.,
Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-1527-4. Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved
1 August 2021.
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Editrice Vaticana (https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2008/document
s/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20080305.html)
27. St. Leo the Great, pope and doctor of the church (https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/11/1
0/st--leo-the-great--pope-and-doctor-of-the-church.html) vaticannews.va
28. Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana), p. 107
29. "The Calendar" (https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-res
ources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar). The Church of England. Retrieved
2021-03-27.
30. Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 (https://books.google.com/books?id=bEq7DwAAQBAJ).
Church Publishing, Inc. 2019-12-17. ISBN 978-1-64065-235-4.
31. "ЛЕВ I РИМСКИЙ - Древо" (http://drevo-info.ru/articles/5253.html). drevo-info.ru (in
Russian). Retrieved 2023-04-01.
32. "LEONE I, santo in "Enciclopedia dei Papi" " (https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/santo-leon
e-i_(Enciclopedia-dei-Papi)). www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-04-01.
33. "LEONE I, santo in "Enciclopedia dei Papi" " (https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/santo-leon
e-i_(Enciclopedia-dei-Papi)). www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-04-01.
34. "Calendário Litúrgico — Diocese of Solsona (2020)" (http://www.gcatholic.org/calendar/202
0/ES-sols0-es.htm). www.gcatholic.org. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
35. "Leo I. "der Große" - Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon" (https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/Biogra
phienL/Leo_der_Grosse.html). www.heiligenlexikon.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-04-01.

Bibliography
Meyendorff, John (1989). Imperial unity and Christian divisions: The Church 450-680 A.D. (h
ttps://books.google.com/books?id=6J_YAAAAMAAJ) The Church in history. Vol. 2.
Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. ISBN 978-0-88-141056-3.
Louise Ropes Loomis, (2006) The Book of Popes (Liber Pontificalis). Merchantville, NJ:
Evolution Publishing. ISBN 1-889758-86-8 (Reprint of the 1916 edition. English translation
with scholarly footnotes, and illustrations).
John Given, (2014) The Fragmentary History of Priscus: Attila, the Huns and the Roman
Empire. Merchantville, NJ: Evolution Publishing. ISBN 1-935228-14-5.
Basil Studer: Art."Leo the Great", in: A. DiBerardino: "Patrology IV", Westminster ML 1994,
pp. 589–612, ISBN 978-0870611278
Alois Grillmeier: "Christ in Christian Tradition", vols. 1 and 2/1, Westminster ML 1988/1987
(2nd revised edition), ISBN 978-0664223014 (Vol. 1), ISBN 978-0664221607 (Vol. 2, pt. 1).
 T. Jalland, The Life and Times of St. Leo the Great, London 1941.
Hans Feichtinger: Die Gegenwart Christi in der Kirche bei Leo dem Großen, Frankfurt 2007,
ISBN 978-3-631-56178-2.
Pope Leo's Tome (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf212.ii.iv.xxviii.html) ccel.org
Early Church Texts (http://www.earlychurchtexts.com/main/leo/tome_of_leo_01.shtml) The
Tome of Leo in Greek and Latin with English translation.
St Leo the Great the Pope of Rome (http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=
1&FSID=100553) Orthodox icon and synaxarion
Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes (http://www.documentacath
olicaomnia.eu/01_01_0440-0461-_Leo_I,_Magnus,_Sanctus.html)
Hans Feichtinger: Die Gegenwart Christi in der Kirche bei Leo dem Großen, Frankfurt am
Main u.a. 2007, ISBN 978-3-631-56178-2.
Basil Studer: Art.Leo the Great, in A. DiBerardino: Patrology IV, Westminster ML 1994, S.
589–612.
Alois Grillmeier: Jesus der Christus im Glauben der Kirche, Bd. 1 (Freiburg u.a. 1990), S.
734–750; Bd. 2/1 (Freiburg 1991), S. 131–200.
Ekkart Sauser (1992). "Pope Leo I". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches
Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (http://www.bbkl.de/{{{1}}}.shtml) (in German). Vol. 4. Herzberg:
Bautz. cols. 1425–1435. ISBN 3-88309-038-7.
Rudolf Schieffer (1991). "Leo I. der Große". Lexikon des Mittelalters, V: Hiera-Mittel bis
Lukanien (in German). Stuttgart and Weimar: J. B. Metzler. col. 1876–1877. ISBN 3-7608-
8905-0.

External links
St Leo of Rome (http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=100553)
Orthodox Synaxarion (18 February)
Colonnade Statue in St Peter's Square (http://www.stpetersbasilica.info/Exterior/Colonnade
s/Saints/St%20Leo%20the%20Great-104/StLeotheGreat.htm)
Works by or about Pope Leo I (https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28++%28%22Saint+
Leo+the+Great%22+OR+%22St.+Leo+the+Great%22%29+OR+%28%22Pope+Leo+I%22%
29+OR+%28Leo+AND+%22390-461%22%29+%29) at Internet Archive
Works by Pope Leo I (https://librivox.org/author/2508) at LibriVox (public domain
audiobooks)
Literature by and about Pope Leo I (https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&c
qlMode=true&query=idn%3D118571710) in the German National Library catalogue
Works by and about Pope Leo I (https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/entity/1185717
10) in the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (German Digital Library)
"Leo I "the Great" (https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienL/Leo_der_Grosse.html)" in
the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
Collected works by Migne Patrologia Latina (http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01_0
1_0440-0461-_Leo_I,_Magnus,_Sanctus.html)

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