Pope Leo II ( – 28 June 683) was the

bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop i ...

from 17 August 682 to his death. He is one of the popes of the Byzantine Papacy. Described by a contemporary biographer as both just and learned, he is commemorated as a saint in the Roman Martyrology on 28 June (3 July, pre-1970 calendar).

Early career

Leo was a Sicilian by birth, the son of a man named Paul. He may have ended up being among the many Sicilian clergymen in Rome due to the attacks of the

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

on Sicily in the mid-7th century. Leo was known as an eloquent preacher who was interested in music, and noted for his charity to the poor.

Papacy

Pope Agatho Pope Agatho (died January 681) served as the bishop of Rome from 27 June 678 until his death. He heard the appeal of Wilfrid of York, who had been displaced from his see by the division of the archdiocese ordered by Theodore of Canterbury. Du ...

died on 10 January 681, and although Leo was elected within days, he was not

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

until 17 August 682. The reason may have been due to Agatho's negotiations with Emperor

Constantine IV Constantine IV ( la, Constantinus; grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantînos; 650–685), called the Younger ( la, iunior; grc-gre, ὁ νέος, ho néos) and sometimes incorrectly the Bearded ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, Πωγων ...

regarding imperial control of papal elections. Constantine IV had already promised Agatho to abolish or reduce the tax that the Popes had been paying to the imperial treasury at the time of their consecration, an imperial policy that had been in force for about a century. Leo's short-lived pontificate did not allow him to accomplish much. Notably, he confirmed the acts of the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680–681) against Monothelitism. After Leo had notified the emperor that the decrees of the council had been confirmed, he made them known to the people of the West. In letters written to the Visigothic king, bishops, and nobles, he explained what the council had effected, and he called upon the bishops to subscribe to its decrees. During this council, Pope Honorius I was

anathema Anathema, in common usage, is something or someone detested or shunned. In its other main usage, it is a formal excommunication. The latter meaning, its ecclesiastical sense, is based on New Testament usage. In the Old Testament, anathema was a ...

tized for tolerating Monothelism. Leo took great pains to make it clear that in condemning Honorius, he did so not because Honorius taught heresy, but because he was not active enough in opposing it. In accordance with the papal mandate, a synod was held at Toledo (684) in which the

Third Council of Constantinople The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, as well by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretica ...

was accepted. Leo put an end to the attempts of Archbishops of Ravenna to break from the control of the Bishop of Rome, but also abolished the tax it had been customary for them to pay when they received the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropoli ...

.Popes
In apparent response to Lombard raids, Leo transferred the relics of some martyrs from the

catacombs Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

to churches inside the city walls. He dedicated two churches, St. Paul's and Sts. Sebastian and George. Leo also reformed

Gregorian Chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe dur ...

and composed several sacred hymns for the

Divine Office Divine Office may refer to: * Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of certain Christian prayers at fixed hours according to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church * Canonical hours In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark t ...

Death

Leo died on 28 June 683, and was succeeded by Benedict II. He was originally buried in his own monument; however, some years after his death, his remains were put into a tomb that contained the first four of his papal namesakes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leo 02 611 births 683 deaths Popes Sicilian popes Greek popes Italian popes Papal saints Popes of the Byzantine Papacy 7th-century archbishops 7th-century Christian saints 7th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica