By Fr. George Dorbarakis
Saint Leo was from Ravenna and was the son of noble parents. Because of the purity of his life and the careful guarding of his thoughts, he passed through all the ranks of the priesthood according to the laws of the Church, and by divine election he was revealed as the head (bishop) of the Metropolis of Catania, which is located in renowned Sicily, where even now fire bursts forth and lava flows from Mount Etna.
Thus he — as his very name suggests — like a lion in faith and like the sun in brilliance, enlightened all, caring for souls, becoming the protector of widows and providing for the poor. For this reason, by his prayer alone he cast down to the ground a statue-idol and saw to the building of a large and beautiful church for the victorious martyr Lucy, while he burned up the magician Heliodoros together with his magical devices.
For when this man appeared publicly among the crowd, performing magic and creating false impressions, the blessed Leo quickly seized him with his hands and bound him with his sacred stole, then ordered that a great fire be lit in the middle of the city. And after exposing all his magical practices, holding him bound by the neck, he entered together with him into the furnace and did not come out until the coward was completely burned to ashes.
This astonished everyone. For not only did the great Leo remain unburned, but the flame did not even touch a single one of his sacred vestments.
When this miracle became known everywhere and even the emperors Leo and Constantine heard it with their own ears, they summoned the Saint to come near them; they touched his feet and begged him to pray for them.
He was not only a great wonderworker during his life, but after his burial he continued to perform miracles.
Joseph, the hymnographer of Saint Leo, especially emphasizes the Saint’s gift of wonderworking — indeed he is called a Wonderworker. Beyond his interventions in all diseases, especially incurable ones, he stresses his gift for expelling evil demons:
“You became, O hierarch, a purifier of diseases, a banisher of evil demons, and a refuge of the faithful.” (Ode 4)
Saint Leo is considered a “specialist” in casting out unclean spirits precisely because he became God’s instrument for exposing and eliminating the wicked magician Heliodoros. Therefore his prayer acts as a scourge driving them away from people:
“You received divine gifts, to heal incurable sufferings and to drive away unclean spirits with the scourge of your prayers.” (Vesperal sticheron)
From this point of view — especially in our own age, which is afflicted by many incurable illnesses (cancers, unknown viruses, etc.), but also by demonic disturbances and influences of unclean spirits — Saint Leo ought to be a “front-line” saint. Particularly since there is the constant testimony that he worked miracles not only in life but also after death, like, in a sense, an ocean of innumerable miracles (“the sea of infinite miracles,” as the Kontakion’s Oikos says). For “the saints live forever.”
The Holy Hymnographer also explains why God granted him the gift of miracles. He passed his whole life on earth in fiery love for God, and therefore he received the grace of wonderworking:
“Having completed all his life on earth in burning love, he received from heaven the sea of countless miracles.” (Oikos of the Kontakion)
And he acquired this love not effortlessly but through intense ascetic struggle, striving to keep his mind always fixed upon the First Mind — God Himself:
“Reflecting in your most pure mind the Mind who is the cause of all, God, you received from Him the radiance of the gifts, O divinely-inspired one.” (Ode 5)
The Hymnographer gives a particularly Christ-centered and poetic explanation in Ode 9. The Saint blossomed as a vine in the vineyard of Christ, producing grapes of virtues, and these dripped the wine of miracles. From this wine the faithful drink and receive both healing and joy:
“As a branch of the true vine, O father, you produced clusters of virtues, dripping the wine of miracles; from this those who drink in faith receive health and gladness.”
It is also worth examining the Hymnographer’s explanation of the strange miracle of the burning of the magician Heliodoros. His action appears startling: he burned a man. But the Saint did not perform this violent act out of hatred or fanaticism. Hatred and fanaticism target someone from a distance and try to destroy him while remaining safe themselves. Here we see the shocking solidarity of the Saint in the same punishment: he himself enters the fire, bringing with him the instrument of the devil.
His action occurs within the energy of God’s grace — the result proves it. For he acts as a shepherd who must save the souls of his flock. Heliodoros was leading many astray; before this, the Saint had to react — precisely for the sake of his flock:
“Him who by demonic deceits was making foolish all who believed in Christ, you delivered with righteous judgment to the fire, O blessed one, and you rescued souls from this destructive harm, as a true and saving shepherd.” (Ode 5)
In this matter Saint Leo becomes an example and model for all Christians — especially clergy — in how the enemies of the Church are confronted: only when one is ready to sacrifice oneself as well. When our motive is love for the people of God, with the decision to die ourselves for that love, then opposition to error becomes effective and saving.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.