What happened when God took flesh? A simple question roused hundreds of speculative answers, most concerning the “person” and “nature” (or natures) of Jesus Christ. But the philosophical terms themselves were slippery, and mistranslations only made matters worse. The wild speculation came to a stop at the Council of Chalcedon, thanks to a letter from Pope Leo the Great. His “Tome” defined terms with abundant clarity. Since then, in mainstream Christianity, Orthodox Christology has been Chalcedonian Christology. The Tome is a necessary point of reference for all subsequent doctrine of Jesus Christ.

LINKS Leo the Great, Letter 28 https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=2156

Leo the Great, Letter 93 (to the Council of Chalcedon) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=2157

Letter 98 (From the Council of Chalcedon to Pope Leo) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=2159

Leo the Great, Letter 162 (“The decrees of Chalcedon and Nicæa are identical and final”) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=2145

Leo the Great, The Tome (text) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=5344

Leo the Great, The Tome (audiobook) https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-leo-great-tome-leo/

Acts of the Council of Chalcedon https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3811.htm

Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com

Mike Aquilina’s books https://catholicbooksdirect.com/writer/mike-aquilina/

Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org

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