ST LEONTIUS OF CAESAREA, BISHOP - 13 JANUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY

Saints celebrated on the 13th of January

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST LEONTIUS, BISHOP 

Saint Leontius, in French St-Leonce, was Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. He is known to have been one of the most excellent of the 318 fathers of the First General Council of Nicaea, which was directed against the heresy of Arius. 

HE PARTICIPATED IN THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA

The Roman Martyrology says of him that he fought violently against the Gentiles under Licinius and against the Arians under Constantine. 

A ZEALOUS BISHOP

Even before that he had been extremely zealous for the faith; he had instructed great multitude in Christianity and strengthened them for the death by martyrdom, among them especially the great bishop Gregory of Greater Armenia, whom he also had consecrated as bishop. 

HE BAPTISED ST GREGORY'S FATHER

On the trip to the Synod of Nicaea, he was present at Nazianzen, where St Gregory, the father of St Gregory of Nazianz, requested to be baptised by our holy bishop.

HIS RELICS WERE BROUGHT TO METZ

St Leontius finally died of old age around 337. Years after his death, his body was found to still be intact. He was buried in the Basilica of the holy martyr Hesychius; but his relics were brought to Vicenza (Vicentia) and eventually to Metz, where they were - with great honour - interred in the Church of St Vincent.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858)