Saint · 440
Leo the Great
Saint Leo the Great, Pope of Rome († 461)
New Calendar February 18 Old Calendar March 2
Why they are a saint
Pope Leo was one of the great bastions of Orthodoxy during the time of the monophysite heresy and its offshoots. The Orthodox Church commemorates Leo the Great on February 18.
Life
Saint Leo the Great, well educated and drawn to the spiritual life, served as archdeacon under Pope Sixtus III and was chosen Bishop of Rome in September 440. He was a chief defender of Orthodoxy against the heresies of Eutyches and Dioscorus, who taught only one nature in Christ, and also against Nestorius. Through his letters to the emperors he promoted the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon in 451, where his letter to Saint Flavian of Constantinople was read.
By the power of his words he stopped Attila the Hun from pillaging Italy, and in 455 persuaded the Vandal leader not to burn Rome or shed blood. Knowing the time of his death, he prepared with forty days of fasting and prayer, and died in 461. He left 96 sermons and 143 letters.
Sources: OCA Lives of the Saints. Retold in our own words.
Traditional patronage
The cited source names no specific patronage.
Patronage / why chosen as patron
Orthodox Christians usually take Leo the Great as a patron when they bear the name Leo at baptism, or were born or baptized near the feast on February 18. Greek Orthodox faithful also honor his as one of their own.
Prayer
O holy Leo the Great, pray to God for us.
A short general prayer to a saint, not a liturgical text. No public-domain troparion for this saint is included.