The Figurative World of Leontius, Presbyter of Constantinople. Part 2

Analysis of the symbolic images of Leontius (the Church and her sacraments, the Lamb of God, the Bread of Heaven, the royal power of Christ) demonstrates, on the one hand, Leontius’ commitment to Eucharistic realism and integral ecclesiology, uniting the sacramental and social functions of the Church, on the other hand, reveals some blurring of the boundaries between the symbol and the reality, and the fascination with the literary completeness of the image, which sometimes leads the preacher to deviate from the theological positions defended by him. The restraint of Leontius in the development of the idea of the royal power of Christ by His human nature is well explained by his pre-Chalcedonian Christology, as well as by the fact that the preacher was under a fresh impression of the heresies of the late 4th century (Marcellus of Anсyra) and their condemnation at the II Ecumenical Council. The latter makes it possible to more confidently date the Corpus Leontianum of the late 4th — early 5th centuries.

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