Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/761

Rh LEO. trated all the powers of his energetic mind upon one great design, which he seems to have formed at a very early period, which he kept stedfastly in view during a long and eventful life, and which he followed out with consummate boldness, persever- ance, and talent. This was nothing less than to establish the " Apostolic Chair " in acknowledged spiritual supremacy over every branch of the Ca- tholic church, and to appropriate to its occupant exclusively the title of Papa, or father of the whole Christian world. Nor were the evil days amid which his lot was cast unfavourable, as might at first sight be imagined, to such a project. The church, it is true, was every where distracted and torn by the strife of parties, and by innumerable heresies, while the character of its ministers had grievously degenerated. The empire in the West was pressed on every side by hordes of barbarians, who were threatening to pour down upon Italy itself. But in this season of confusion the contend- ing factions among the orthodox clergy, terrified by the rapid progress of Arianism, were well disposed to refer their own minor disputes to arbitration, and to acquiesce in the decision of one pre-eminent in learning and dignity. Leo, who well knew, from the example of his predecessor Innocentius, that the transition is easy from instruction to com- mand, in the numerous and elaborate replies which he addressed to inquiries proceeding from various quarters, while he conveyed the information sought, or resolved the doubts proposed, studiously adopted a tone of absolute infallibility, and assumed the right of enforcing obedience to his dictates as an unquestionable prerogative of his office. On the other hand, the barbarian chiefs whose power was not yet consolidated were eager to propitiate one who possessed such weight with the priesthood, and through them could either calm into submission or excite to rebellion an ignorant and fanatic mul- titude. Hence these also proved powerful, although unconscious, instruments in forwarding the great enterprise. But even after the minds of men were in some degree prepared and disposed to yield to such domination, it was scarcely to be expected that it could be firmly fixed without exciting jea- lousy and resistance. Accordingly, a strong op- position was speedily organised both in the West and in the East, which soon assumed the attitude of open defiance. In the West the contest was brought to an issue by the controversy with Hilarius of Aries concerning the deposition of Che- lidonius. [Hilarius Arelatertsis] The total de- feat and severe punishment of the Gaulish bishop filled his supporters with terror, and the edict of Valentinian issued upon this occasion served as a Bort of charter, in virtue of which the Roman bishops exercised for centuries undisputed juris- diction over France, Spain, Germany, and Britain. In the East the struggle was much more com- plicated, the result much less satisfactory. The Archimandrite Eutyches [Eutyches], in his ve- hement denunciation of Nestorius, having been be- trayed into errors, very different indeed, but equally dangerous, was anathematised, deposed, and ex- communicated, in A. D. 448, by the synod of Con- stantinople. Against this sentence he sought redress, by soliciting the interference of the bishops of Alexandria and Rome. By the former his cause was eagerly espoused ; the latter, although at first disposed to listen favourably to a complaint which he chose to regard as an appeal from an inferior to LEO. 747 a higher court, was eventually induced, either by policy or conviction, to reject the application, and drew up an elaborate epistle to the patriarch Fla- vianus, in which the Catholic doctrine of the Incarnation was authoritatively expounded and defined. Meanwhile, a general council was sum- moned to be held on the 1st of August, 449, at Ephesus, and thither the ambassadors of Leo re- paired, for the purpose of reading publicly the above letter. But a great majority of the con- gregated fathers acting under control of the pre- sident, Dioscuros of Alexandria, refused to listen to the document, passed tumultuously a series of resolutions favourable to Eutyches, excommunicated the most zealous of his opponents, and not only treated the Roman envoys with indignity, but even offered violence to their persons. Hence this assembly, whose acts were all subsequently an- nulled, is known in ecclesiastical history as the Synodus Latrocinalis. The vehement complaints addressed to Theodosius by the orthodox leaders proved fruitless, and the triumph of their opponents was for a time complete, when the sudden death of the emperor in 450 again awakened the hopes and called forth the exertions of Leo. In consequence of the pressing representations of his envoys, Ana- tolius, the successor of Flavianus, together with all the clergy of Constantinople, were induced to sub- scribe the Confession of Faith contained in the Epistle to Flavianus, and to transmit it for sig- nature to all the dioceses of the East. Encouraged by this success, Leo solicited the new monarch Marcianus to summon a grand council, for the final adjustment of the questions concerning the nature of Christ, which still proved a source of discord, and strained every nerve to have it held in Italy, where his own adherents Avould necessarily have preponderated. In this, hovi^ever, he failed. Nicaea was the place first fixed upon, but it eventually met at Chalcedon in October, 451, Although the Roman legates, whose language was of the most imperious description, did not fail broadly to assert the pre- tensions put forth by the representative of St. Peter, at first all went smoothly. The Epistle to Flavianus was admitted as a rule of faith for the guidance of the universal church, and no protest was entered against the spirit of arrogant assump- tion in which it was conceived. But when the whole of the special business was concluded, at the very last sitting, a formal resolution was proposed and passed, to the effect that while the Roman see was, in virtue of its antiquity, entitled to take formal precedence of every other, the see of Con- stantinople was to stand next in rank, was to be regarded as independent of every other, and to exercise full jurisdiction over the churches of Asia, Thrace, and Pontus. The resistance of Leo was all in vain. The obnoxious canons were fully confirmed, and thus one half of the sovereignty at which he aimed was for ever lost, at the very mo- ment when victory seemed no longer doubtful. Two other events in the active life of this re- markable man must not be passed over in silence. In 452, when Attila was advancing in full career upon Rome, Leo was selected as the chief of an embassy, sent forth in the forlorn hope of pro- pitiating the fierce conqueror. What the arguments employed by the eloquent suppliant may have been history has failed to record. The result is well known. The Hun not only spared the me- tropolis, but evacuated Italy, and returned with his