483 
L I 
Roman calendar, was Laid to be a native of Tufcany ; but, 
according to more probable authorities, he was born 
at Rome, where it is certain that he was brought up and 
educated. We are furnifhed with no certain particulars 
of his earlier years, before he was raifed to the dignity of 
archdeacon of the Roman church, under the pontificate 
of pope Celedine. He occupied the fame poft under pope 
Sixtus III. and acquired a high reputation for piety, or¬ 
thodox zeal, eloquence, addrefs, and prudence in the ma¬ 
nagement of bufinefs. The firlt memorable tranfaftion 
in which we find him engaged was in the year 439, when 
the vveftern empire was reduced to the lowed ebb, being 
overrun by the Goths, Burgundians, Franks, and Huns, 
and governed by the emprefs Placidia, and her fon Valen- 
tinian III. a youth of no experience, and of very ilender 
abilities. In this crifis, a difference had arifen in Gaul, 
between the famous Aetius, the greateft general of his 
time, and Albinus, a lord in that country, of great in- 
tereft and power, which threatened the molt fatal confe- 
quences. To prevent them, Leo was fent to Gaul, as the 
fitted perfon who could be employed in fuch a negociation, 
to attempt a reconciliation between thole great men; and 
happily fucceeded in the object of his midion. His fuc- 
cefs in this undertaking caufed him to be honoured at 
the imperial court as the deliverer of the empire, and 
added no little weight to the reputation which he had al¬ 
ready obtained with the clergy and people of Rome. 
While he was yet in Gaul, pope Sixtus III. died, in the 
month of Augud 440; upon which the univerfal voice of 
the Romans proclaimed Leo his fucceffor, no perfon pre¬ 
fuming to enter into competition with a man of fuch ex¬ 
alted merit. A deputation was immediately fent to no¬ 
tify to him his election ; and, upon his return to Rome fix 
weeks afterwards, he was received, by the people and 
clergy, with the greated demondrations of joy, and or¬ 
dained to his high office in the month of September. He 
commenced his pontificate with the mod zealous exer¬ 
tions as a Chridian bifhop, indrufting the people com¬ 
mitted to his care by his fermons, and the red of the 
Chridian world by his letters ; endeavouring to revive 
the ancient difcipline, and to banifli many of the abufes 
which had crept into the church ; but, at the fame time 
he directed his particular attention to the advancement of 
the authority and grandeur of the papal fee. In the year 
442, he wrote a letter to Rudicus bifhop of Narbonne, in 
which he extended the law of celibacy of the fubdeacons, 
who, neverthelefs, were not to abandon the wives whom 
they had married while in inferior degrees, but, changing 
the carnal into a fpiritual marriage, live with them, not 
as wives, but as fibers. In the year 445, he quarrelled 
with Hilary bifhop of Arles, for oppofing the power of 
the papal fee; and, though he could never conquer Hi¬ 
lary’s independent fpirit, he obtained an edift from the 
emperor Valentinian, which put an end to the ancient li¬ 
berties of the Galilean churches, and enforced thofe ap¬ 
peals to Rome, which gradually fubjefted all the wehern 
churches to the jurifdiftion of the pretended fucceffors of 
St. Peter. 
About this time many of the Manichteans, flying from 
Africa after the conqued of Carthage by Genferic king 
of the Vandals, had repaired to Rome, as to a place of 
fafety. The orthodox zeal of Leo, however, would not 
fuffer them long to enjoy tranquillity. As they had been 
deprived of the protection of the Roman laws by the un¬ 
repealed edifts of different emperors, he caufed the drifted 
fearch to be made after them, and great numbers to be 
feizecl and imprifoned. Thofe of them who were influ¬ 
enced by his arguments or threatenings to abjure their dif- 
tinguifhing tenets, were received by him into communion ; 
but all thofe who deadily adhered to their principles, were 
condemned to perpetual banilhment. But it was not 
againd the Manichasans alone, that Leo exercifed his zeal 
for the catholic faith. In his time the feft of the Prifcil- 
lians began to revive in Spain. Their fentiments appear 
to have been a compound of gnofticifni and umtarianifm, 
0 . 
and they made high pretenfions to fanftity and purity, 
and praftifed uncommon mortifications. For propagating 
them, their leader, after whom they were called, and fe- 
veral of his followers, were cruelly put to death, about 
the year 386. This treatment caufed Prifcillian to be ve¬ 
nerated as a martyr; and his doftrines made confiderable 
progrefs in the Spanifh churches, efpecially in thofe of 
Gallicia. Alarmed at this circumdance, Turibius bifhop 
of Adorga endeavoured to roufe his brethren of the epif- 
copal order to unite with him in adopting vigorous mea- 
fures for luppreffing them. Not being able to obtain 
their concurrence, he had recourfe to Leo ; and, in a let¬ 
ter to that pontiff, written in 447, containing a fummary 
of the doftrines of the Prifcillians, implored his affidance 
againd the fpreading evil. Leo, in his anfwer, applauded 
the zeal of Turibius ; condemned the doftrines of the feft 
as impious and detedable; declared all who tolerated he- 
refies no lefs guilty than thofe who embraced them ; and 
alfo expreded his approbation of the punilhment inflifted 
on Prifcillian. 
7 'he doftrine of Eutyches, who maintained that there 
was but one nature in Chrid, began about this time to 
make a great noife in the ead, and opened a dill larger 
field for the difplay of Leo’s catholic zeal. See Euty¬ 
ches, vol. vii. p. 90. Eutyches was condemned by a 
council held at Condantinople, in the year 448, deprived 
of the government of his monadery, and cut off from 
the communion of the church ; but he appealed from 
their fentence to an oecumenical council, which was furn- 
moned to meet at Ephefus in the year 449 ; and Leo was 
invited by the emperor to attend it. This invitation Leo 
declined, but promifed to fend legates, who diould aft in 
his name. In the mean time, Leo, being informed by 
Flavianus bifhop of Condantinople of what had paffed 
in the council of 448, highly approved of the proceed¬ 
ings and decifions of that affembly; openly declared 
againd Eutyches, condemning his doftrine as heretical 
and blafphemous; and driftly enjoined his legates, on 
their fetting out for the ead, to aft wholly in concert 
with the bifhop of Condantinople. To that prelate he 
wrote a letter which is deemed one of the molt curious 
monuments of antiquity, and is thought to have contri¬ 
buted more than any thing elfe to the great fame and re¬ 
putation which he afterwards acquired. It contains a par¬ 
ticular explanation of the catholic doctrine of the incar¬ 
nation, together with the pad'ages adduced in fupport of 
it, from the feriptures and from the fathers. This letter 
was afterwards received by the oecumenical council of 
Chalcedon, and by all the bifhops of the catholic church ; 
and in the wedern churches it was condantly read, during 
Advent, with the gofpel. By the fathers of the council 
of Apamea, held about the year 535, it was dyled “the 
true column of the orthodox faith.” Leo alio wrote let¬ 
ters on this occafion to the emperor Theodofius, to the 
emprefs Pulcheria, to the abbots of Condantinople, and 
to the council, all intended to edablifh the doftrines of 
the two natures, to confute the oppofite opinion, and to 
encourage thole to whom they were addreffed to contri¬ 
bute, as far as in them lay, towards luppreffing the opi¬ 
nion of Eutyches. Notwithltanding all this, when the 
council met at Ephefus, which, from the fraud and vio¬ 
lence praftifed in it, was afterwards didinguifhed by the 
name of “ the affembly of robbers,” the partifans of Eu- 
tyches obtained a complete triumph over their adverfaries,„ 
no one daring to oppofe them but Hilarius, one of the 
papal legates, who proteded againd their proceedings. 
No fooner was Leo informed of what had paffed at Ephefus,. 
than he aflembled, without delay, a council at Rome,, 
confiding of aimed all the wedern bifhops; and, with 
their advice, he wrote to Theodofius, complaining of the. 
violence with which matters had been condufted at Ephe¬ 
fus, and entreating him to declare null what had been 
done there, and to leave all things in the condition in. 
which they were before the council of Condantinople, till 
a greater number of bilhops fhould afferuble from all parts, 
