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St. Leo the First was Pope of Rome during the fifth century. Born in Italy of devout parents, he was first archdeacon under Pope Sixtus the Third, and elected to the papal throne against his will after Sixtus’s death. When Attila the Hun drew near to Rome, preparing to ravage and burn the city, St. Leo went out to him in his episcopal vestments, tamed the wrath of the Hun leader and averted the fall of Rome. Attila was willing to be guided by St. Leo because he saw his holiness, and because he had a vision of the Apostles Peter and Paul standing behind St. Leo, threatening him with a flaming sword. St. Leo not only saved Rome, but contributed greatly to the safeguarding of Orthodoxy against the heresy of Eutyches and Dioscorus. This heresy consisted in the merging of the divine and human natures of Christ into one, and, following from this, the denial of the existence of two wills in the Person of our Lord and Savior. This led to the summoning of the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon, at which St. Leo’s Epistle was read. St. Leo, after writing this epistle, had placed it on the tomb of St. Peter, whereupon it had been corrected by St. Peter. As death drew near, he spent forty days in fasting and prayer by the tomb of the Apostle Peter, begging him to tell him if his sins were forgiven. The apostle appeared to him and assured him that they were, except of his sins in ordaining priests (from which it is seen how grave a sin it is to ordain an unworthy man). The saint returned to prayer until he was told that these also were wiped out. Then he gave his soul to the Lord in peace. St. Leo entered into rest in the year 461. Troparion, Tone 3: Kontakion, Tone 3: Source: http://www.fatheralexander.org
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