484 
L 
of the world, to give their opinion concerning a queftion 
in which they were all equally concerned. At the fame 
time he wrote to the emprefs Pulcheria, to the clergy, no¬ 
bility, and people, of Conftantinople, and to others, in 
which he exhorted them to adhere fteadily to the ortho¬ 
dox faith, and to join him in defending the truth, and in 
combating, even at the expenfe of their lives, againlt the 
oppolite errors. In the year 450 he wrote anew to Theo- 
doiius and Pulcheria on the fame fubjefl, and fent his let¬ 
ters by four ambafiadors whom he difpatched to Conftan- 
tinople, for the purpofe of giving weight to his applica¬ 
tion. Upon their arrival at that city, they found that 
Theodofius was dead, and that his filter Pulcheria, who 
bad (hared the fovereignty with him, had married Mar- 
cian, a perfon of extraordinary qualifications, on whom 
flie bellowed the empire. In the month of May 451, 
Marcian directed that a circular letter fhould be lent to 
all the biihops in his dominions, fummoning them to meet 
at Nice in Bithynia, by the firft of September following. 
It was no fmall difappointment to Leo, that he could not 
prevail with the emperor to fix the place of that affembly 
in Italy ; however he fent legates to alTilt at the council, 
which met firlt at Nice, but immediately was removed to 
Chalcedon, feparated only by the Bofphorus from Con- 
flantinople, that the emperor, who, on account of the 
eruption of the Huns into Illyrium, was unwilling to go 
far from that city, might have it in his power to aflift at 
it in perfon. This is reckoned the fourth general or oecu¬ 
menical council, and is faid to have confifted of 630 bi- 
fhops, over whom the pope’s legates were appointed to 
prefide. In this council, the a£ts of the council of Ephe- 
fus were annulled ; Eutyches was condemned, though he 
bad already been fent into banifhment, and deprived of 
bis facerdotal dignity; the letter of Leo to Flavianus, al¬ 
ready mentioned, was received ; and a fymbol or decree 
■was fubfcribed by every member, “ that in Chrilt two 
diftinft natures werejunited in one perfon, and that with¬ 
out any change, mixture, or confufion.” Next to mat¬ 
ters of faith, the council took into confideration the dif- 
cipline of the church, and enabled that famous canon 
which equalled the fee of Conftantinople, in all refpefts 
excepting precedency, to the fee of Rome. This canon 
the council was induced to pafs, that the bilhop of Con¬ 
ftantinople might be enabled to check the growing power, 
and to oppofe the daily encroachments, of the bilhop of 
Rome; and alfo to fliow their refentment of the difguft- 
ing arrogance and prefumption difplayed by the papal le¬ 
gates. No fooner, however, was the motion for this ca¬ 
non made, than the legates quitted their feats, and, after 
declaring that they had no inftruftions concerning mat¬ 
ters of that nature, haftily withdrew from the council. 
To their great mortification, no one of the numerous bi- 
fliops prelent followed their example ; and on the day fol¬ 
lowing that on which the canon was decreed, when they 
protefted againlt it, pretending that it was furreptitious, 
or extorted by force, they had the Hill further mortifica¬ 
tion of hearing that infmuation indignantly repelled by 
the unanimous voice of the affembly, and by the exprefs 
declarations of the chief men among them in particular. 
Upon this the canon was confirmed by the imperial com- 
miflioners ; and it proved the occafion of repeated contefts 
between the fees of Rome and Conftantinople. The two 
firft biihops of the church, who fhould have fet a better 
example to the reft, difputing, in defiance of the gofpel, 
and to the great fcandal of the Chriftian name and reli¬ 
gion, who fhould be the greateft, till they became irrecon¬ 
cilable enemies, and renounced for ever all communica¬ 
tion with each other. Hence the feparation of the Greek 
and Latin churches. 
In the year 453, Leo’s zeal was directed towards the 
converfion of the monks of Paleftine and Egypt, who de¬ 
nounced war againft all the abettors of the council of 
Chalcedon, and maftacred without mercy fuch of the clergy 
and laity as had the courage to profefs their belief of two 
natures in Chrilt. With this view he wrote a long letter 
3 
E O. 
to the monks themfelves, in which he endeavoured t* 
prove the doftrine of Eutyches, condemned at Chalcedon, 
to be no lefs dangerous herefy than that of Neftorius, con¬ 
demned at Ephefus. But his eloquence feems to have 
made little impreflion ; and it was found neceflary to em¬ 
ploy the imperial troops to quell the fedition of thefe 
furious zealots, and to rellore thofe countries to tran¬ 
quillity. 
In the year 455, Leo’s attention was drawn oft' from 
the affairs of the eall, by the calamities produced in Italy 
in confequence of the death of Valentinian. A fhort 
time after, the famous Genferic, king of the Vandals in 
Africa, fuddenly debarked a powerful army in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of Rome. His appearance ftruck the daftardly 
Romans with fuch terror and difmay, that, inltead of pre¬ 
paring for defence, they threw open their gates, and fur- 
rendered at difcretion. In tins extremity Leo went out 
to meet the enemy, and endeavoured by prayers and tears 
to mediate for the fafety of the city. Genferic received 
Leo with the refpedt due to his rank and character; but, as 
the pontiff had nothing to offer which Genferic had not 
now in his power, he could not prevail upon the kirig to re¬ 
frain from pillaging the city, the public as well as the pri¬ 
vate houfes, and even the churches, or from carrying the 
inhabitants into captivity. Genferic promifed, however, 
that the city Ihouid not be fet on fire, and that no blood 
fliould be filed where no oppolition was met with ; and 
he faithfully kept his word. After fpending fourteen 
days in ranfacking the houfes, churches, and public build¬ 
ings, and dripping them of all their wealth, and valuable 
monuments, the Vandals re-embarked, and returned to 
Africa with an immenfe booty, and as many captives as 
they could cany on-board their fleet. 
Thefe troubles, and the mifchiefs which they occafion- 
ed, engrofled much of Leo’s care and attention to mitigate 
them, till, upon the death of the emperoi; Marcian, in 457, 
the Eutychians once more obtained the afcendency in 
Egypt. The chief of this revolution was Timothy, fur- 
named JElurus, or the Cat, who had been originally a 
monk, but was ordained pried by Diofcorus, to whom he 
adhered after that prelate was condemned and depofed by 
the council of Chalcedon. On this account he was con¬ 
demned, and molt probably fent into exile, by Proterius, 
who was chofen to fucceed Diofcorus in the lee of Alex¬ 
andria, at a council held in that city in the year 452. 
The death of Marcian encouraged him to make his ap¬ 
pearance again in Egypt; and he now afpired to the bi- 
Ihopric of Alexandria. Knowing that the people were 
greatly dilfatisfied with Proterius, and ready to revolt at 
the mitigation of any daring leader, he fecured the con¬ 
currence of the monks, by pradtifing on their credulity 
till they were perfuaded that he was appointed their bilhop 
by God himfelf, and that they themfelves were the inltru- 
ments chofen to raife him to that dignity. Filled with 
an enthufiaftic zeal for this darling of heaven, they re¬ 
paired, by his direction, to Alexandria, where they raifed 
a dreadful tumult; in the height of which ASlurus, at¬ 
tended by the monks, and a band of armed defperadoes, 
broke open the doors of the great church, and cauled him¬ 
felf to be ordained by two of the profcribed biihops of his 
party. After the ceremony was over, the monks, and the 
rabble, with loud huzzas, proclaimed him foie lawful bi- 
Ihop of Alexandria, and metropolitan of all Egypt. In 
the mean time Proterius found it neceflary to fly for his 
life, and took fanfluary in a baptiflery adjoining to the 
church of St. Quirinus. But the facrednefs of the place 
was no protection againft the ambition of Ailurus, or the 
rage of his followers; and they cruelly murdered the pre¬ 
late, together with fix of his ecclefialtics who had attended 
him in his flight. Having thus removed his rival out of 
the way, iElurus loft no time in aflembling his council, 
confifting of a fmall number of Eutychian biihops, in 
which he openly anathematized the council of Chalcedon, 
pope Leo, and all the catholic biihops. In virtue of this 
fentence, he excommunicated, depofed, and drove from 
their 
1 
