Lessons 4-6 from the Divine Office of St. Leo the Second, Pope and Confessor.

Lessons 4-6 from the Divine Office of St. Leo the Second, Pope and Confessor.

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Leo II, Supreme Pontiff, a Sicilian, was learned in sacred and profane letters in Greek and Latin, and was moreover an excellent musician; for he reduced to better harmony the sacred hymns and psalms used in the Church. He approved the acts of the sixth council, which was held at Constantinople, under the presidency of the legates of the Apostolic See, the Emperor Constantine also being present, and the two Patriarchs of Constantinople and of Antioch, and one hundred and seventy bishops. Leo translated the decrees into Latin.

It was at this council that Cyrus, Sergius, and Pyrrhus were condemned, for teaching that there is in Christ only one will and one operation. Leo broke the pride of the archbishops of Ravenna, who, relying upon the power of the exarchs, would not obey the Apostolic See. Wherefore he decreed an election by the clergy of Ravenna should not be effective, unless confirmed by the authority of the Roman Pontiff.

He was indeed a father to the poor; for not by money alone, but by his deeds, his labours, and his advice, he relieved the poverty and loneliness of needy widows and orphans. While he was exhorting everyone to pious and holy living, not by mere preaching but by his own life, he fell asleep in the Lord on the 3rd day of July in the year 683, in the eleventh month of his pontificate, and was buried in the Basilica of St. Peter. In the month of June he held one ordination, at which he ordained nine priests, three deacons, and twenty-three bishops for various places.