We’re back for the first full week of Lent Madness 2021. That’s five straight days of heart-stopping saintly thrills. Although the first three matchups haven’t been particularly close (Camillus de Lellis, Constantine, and Egeria all won handily), a tight race always lurks just around the bracket corner.
Today, it’s the Battle of the Greats as Albert the Great squares off against Leo the Great to determine, once and for all, just who is the greatest? (with all due respect to Muhammad Ali, of course).
Over the weekend, in the only Saturday matchup of the season, Egeria saw her way past Tarcisius 61% to 39%. Don’t forget you can click on the Bracket Tab to check past results and access the Matchup Calendar to see the upcoming pairings. Now go vote!
Albert the Great
During the Middle Ages, there were few subject areas that Albert didn’t study, contribute to, or lead the way in.
Albert the Great, also known as Albertus Magnus and Albert of Cologne, was a scientist, teacher, theologian, philosopher, prolific writer, physician, German Dominican friar, bishop, and diplomat.
Albert was born around the year 1193, somewhere in Bavaria to a wealthy German family. Albert was educated primarily at the University of Padua in northern Italy, where he began a lifelong interest in the writings of the great Greek philosopher Aristotle. Around this time, Albert reportedly was visited by the Virgin Mary, which convinced him to enter the Dominican Order.
He became a master of theology in 1245 and began to teach at the University of Paris, where the highly influential Thomas Aquinas was one of his students. Their relationship grew from teacher/student to friend and colleague. In 1254, Albert was elected prior for the Dominican Order German-speaking province, which kept him busy traveling and attending to the needs of the people. Six years later, he was named bishop of Regensburg, Bavaria, but resigned after three years. Again, his travels took him far, always on foot and never on horseback, thereby earning him the name “Boots the Bishop.”
His lasting influence is far-reaching and ubiquitous. His contributions can be found in all the major scientific fields, from alchemy to zoology. Among his innumerable contributions to the world of knowledge, he is credited as discovering arsenic. Also of significance are his writings about Aristotle.
Albert died November 15, 1280, in Cologne, Germany. Since November 15, 1954, his relics have been located in a Roman sarcophagus in the crypt of the Dominican St. Andreas Church in Cologne. He was named a saint and a doctor of the church on December 15, 1931—one of only 36 named doctors. On December 16, 1941, Pope Pius XII anointed Albert as the patron saint of the natural sciences.
He is the patron saint of medical technicians, natural sciences, philosophers, scientists, and Cincinnati, Ohio—home to Forward Movement!
Collect for Albert the Great
O God, by your Holy Spirit you give to some the word of wisdom, to others the word of knowledge, and to others the word of faith: We praise your Name for the gifts of grace manifested in your servant Albert, and we pray that your Church may never be destitute of such gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Leo the Great
The fifth century was a time of turmoil in the Western Roman Empire. After the death of Theodosius in 395, the empire divided into Eastern and Western portions—and the Eastern Empire (centered in Constantinople) was more prosperous and secure than the Western Empire (centered in Rome).
It was within the unsettled west that Leo the Great served the church. The Western Empire was constantly under threat of invasion from the east and north. Around 440, Leo was sent to Gaul as a peacemaker between two generals whose bickering endangered Gaul’s safety; while he was there, he received word that he had been elected bishop of Rome.
Service as Pope in the middle of the fifth century didn’t carry the prestige it does today. Leo worked to assert the authority of the Roman pontiff as the successor of Peter: he asserted a strong hand in the furthest reaches of the Western Empire over recalcitrant bishops, and he worked energetically in Gaul, Spain, and Africa to combat the anathematized teachings of Manicheans, Pricillians, and Pelagians.
Yet while Leo built up the power of the Roman See, his gifts as a peacemaker left the most profound impression on Christianity as a whole. Debate had continued for centuries across the church as to the nature of Jesus Christ. Leo wrote with authority, dignity, and clarity that Jesus Christ is one person, the Divine Word, in whom human and divine natures are fully united without either confusion or mixture. The Tome of Leo was received by the Council of Chalcedon in 451; upon hearing it, the council is said to have remarked that “Peter has spoken by Leo.”
Leo was not limited to keeping the peace in church disputes. When Attilla the Hun surrounded Rome in 452, Leo personally negotiated with him to accept tribute instead of plundering and destroying the city. Three years later, as the Vandals surrounded Rome, Leo again sought peace. This time his efforts failed, yet his intervention is credited with saving the city from burning and mass slaughter.
His care for the integrity of the church and the safety of the people entrusted to its care commend him to the memory of the church as one of its saints; his feast day is celebrated on November 10.
Collect for Leo the Great
O Lord our God, grant that your church, following the teaching of your servant Leo of Rome, may hold fast the great mystery of our redemption and adore the one Christ, true God and true Man, neither divided from our human nature nor separate from your divine Being; through the same Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Albert the Great vs. Leo the Great
- Albert the Great (54%, 4,337 Votes)
- Leo the Great (46%, 3,668 Votes)
Total Voters: 8,005
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Both science and faith should alert us
To pay homage to Doctor Albertus:
His genius revealed
Fruit in every field;
Sending him to Sixteen cannot hurt us.
Fantastic!
My husband is an Albert Jr. and he’s always hated his name. He goes by Al and doesn’t appreciate being likened to Al Bundy, Fat Albert, the list goes on and on. Finally an Albert he can be proud of! Thanks for your wonderful poem.
My father’s middle name was Albert. I am now going on the assumption his parents, back in 1903 ,named for the saint.
He can also be proud of Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Queen Victoria’s husband. He supported the abolition of the slave trade and the repeal of the Corn Laws (which kept food prices high), encouraged the building of model apartments for the poor, promoted British art and industry, supervised the education of his nine children, reformed the curriculum at Cambridge University, and introduced the Christmas tree to Britain.
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I’m with you on this one John, but I will add this on Leo’s behalf:
It took lots of skill,
and great force of will,
to confer with Attil-a.
I’m going contrarian today. I think Albert will win, but I’m voting for Leo. Being a true peacemaker isn’t easy. You have to not always be pleasant. And it often means betraying your personal ethics. And today, we see so much intellectual purity being inforced in groups that ultimately leaves the little people on their own.
I agree—and stepping up to negotiate with invading armies took a lot of courage.
Alison – is this you – my cousin? I went for Albert. They were both worthy.
My thoughts exactly!
I agree with you. I’m doing the same thing.
Me, too!
Thank you, Ellen – you affirmed my decision to vote for Leo – I feel so much better now! I agree that Albert will prevail and his accomplishments and influence make the “win” okay with me. But as you so eloquently described, it’s very hard to ignore Leo’s courage as peacemaker – he negotiated with Attila the Hun, for heaven’s sake! (No pun intended.) Thanks again.
You convinced me to change my vote- i read comments before votin
agree…wanted to vote for Al, but went with Leo the Peacemaker
Yes! This is exactly what I was thinking!
Hi Ellen, What a fitting reply from from the studier of peace and human rights.
My vote was for Leo, as well, because we need a whole lot more peacemakers in our world.
So with you Ellen!
Agree! Your comment helped me decide. Can you imagine the bravery to speak to Attila the Hun??
I even put down Leo on my 2021 Bracket sheet, but the write-up really sings to me about the accomplishments of Albert. So it’s a vote against my bracket interest this round. Excellent write-ups, both!
I agree with you.
My vote went to Leo as well.
I concur with Ellen L. Leo was a successful peacemaker and thus got my vote.
Agreed. Leo was a peacekeeper. It was vital then, and is now.
This was a tough one. The polymath or the peacemaker? Without Leo and his intervention with Rome’s secular enemies, there might never have been an Albert. But Albert, as a patron saint of medical technicians, got the edge in this day when medical science needs all the prayers we can offer!
While in no way diminishing Leo’s great contributions to the church, and especially to the understanding of the nature of Christ, In a day and age when science is under attack by certain parts of the church, I feel compelled to vote for Alberta the Great (although I get the impression, reading his biography, that he would be embarrassed by that qualifier.)
I was fascinated by the many ways Albert touched our lives, even today
YES! I’m all-in for Albert the Great. One resource, speaking to his gifts/being patron saint of the natural sciences, wrote that he researched and wrote about “114 species of birds, 113 quadrupeds, 139 aquatic animals, 61 serpents and 49 worms. He was the first to mention the weasel and the Arctic bear…”
“To want everything that I want for the glory of God, to wish and do everything only and always for his glory.” -Attributed to Albert the Great
I totally agree! That is why I had to vote for Albert!
Today’s matchup may seem to pit two greats to our human eyes. Only one in my mind was closer to following and lead us humans to God word. Therefore I select Leo who not only brought action to the adage “Blessed are the peacemakers” but tried to help us see the truth about Jesus as both human and divine. To me that is why we have Jesus to show that God’s truth can exist in a human life without a maze of man made rules.
My feelings, exactly! Very well put, indeed. Thank you!
In this choice I feel myself to be a pinball. Yet, as I fall out at the bottom, I find myself with peace and Jesus, just as Pat Sadd does.
Here, here!
Beautifully said, Pat! Thank you so much.
My thoughts too. Talk about a statesman who was really good at crossing the aisle!
I wish I could vote for both of them , also
Yes! Such a good point! Thank you for saying this 🙂
That was my take too. Blessed are the peacemakers – we need more of them at these critical times.
I agree here too.
Albert, my namesake, used every minutes of his life in useful activities which exemplifies John Wesley’s “Do all the good you can…”. Albert was indeed Great.
Blessed are the peacemakers in all the times and circumstances of our history. I vote for Leo.
No doubt Albert was multi-talented and gave much to the world, but Leo successfully negotiated with Attilla !! (He must have been a “lion-hearted” Leo indeed to pull that off.) As well as helping to ground the theology of the western church soundly (less abstract and more important than it might sound). One vote here for Leo.
My son’s middle name is Leo, to honor a late, great Jesuit pastor whom I had the privilege to know. Fr. Leo, or “Fr X,” as he was widely known, was a peacemaker and dearly and clearly loved Jesus with his heart, mind and soul. It’s Leo the Great for me.
He had me at “Boots the Bishop!”
I agree!
Me too!! My exercise of choice is long walks, which have saved my sanity over the last year.
Yes, the medical folks need our prayers, but with the deep divisions in this country, we also need peacemakers to bring people together.
Honestly Albert is definitely going to win. I just don’t see Leo going into the playoffs, he doesn’t have a good defense plus he got traded to the western roman empire. Albert though his team got good defense plus their offense is pretty good as well so they got a good chance in the playoffs.
Cute, Chad !
My husband went to a Dominican college, so I have to vote for Albertus Magnus. Providence College has a building named after him.
Same here! (Aquinas College) — the science building is Albertus Magnus Hall and I pretty much lived there. I’ll always vote for Albert if he comes up.
That’s certainly appropriate: Thomas Aquinas (another Doctor of the Church) was a student of Albertus’ in Paris and Cologne.
As a scientist/priest myself, my vote has to go for Albert.
Albert has achievements in his favor. Leo was handed a difficult task(s). My vote is always going to go to the saint who personified Jesus Christ to me. Leo hands down.
Exactly!
Blessed are the peace makers
It seems that today we need a saint to heal our divides and cool the anger of extremists. A saint who represents the way to compromise and peace for the good of all. I admire and am thankful for the contributions of Albert but Leo seems to be the way forward for today’s social ills.
If only we had such today. Leo, indeed.
Patron saint of Cincinnati!
Another difficult match up, but I am going with the peacemaker who also solidified the understanding of the nature of Jesus.
My thoughts exactly. Understanding the nature of Jesus is so fundamental, no number of acts, no matter how significant, can compare. This matchup seems to me faith vs works at its core.
Love that succinct statement. I, too, vote for Leo today. Although my hiker side loves Boots the Bishop, too. 😀
Perhaps it would have been better if arsenic had not been discovered? I voted for Leo the peacemaker, who wrote with insight about the nature of Jesus Christ.
Hi, Janet from Bucks! We are in Berks, and I grew up in Chester. Nice to ‘see’ a neighbour in Lent Madness!
Albert was a person who should be emulated in view or the difficult times we face today; indeed so many of medical researchers, medical personnel and health workers are doing just that even those who may never have heard of him.
I was very impressed and enthusiastic about Albert the Great and his many accomplishments, but was deeply swayed by the argument that a peacemaker is so important in this world. I’m voting for Leo the Great.
I am a marine Field Ecologist- Natural Science, I support Albert, our patron and very worthy Saint. He is a Renaissance person, before the Renaissance. He worked in multiple secular and Christian areas, showing the Kingdome has no borders. Great to celebrate and recognize an outstanding follower of Jesus. Albert Magnus feast day is 15 November. I plan to be celebrating; however, not in Koln, AKA Cologne.
Albert had me at zoology and then clinched it with Cincinnati.
Scholar-priest or peacemaker? Coin-toss time. Tails for Leo.
Both are good choices. Are you making up for last weeks’s 2 bad choices?
Albert didn’t just talk the talk. He walked the walk. My kind of saint.
Hmm, great orthodoxy vs great science. Consolidation vs pluralization. Which should wear the golden halo in our day?
Leo the Great
Sorry, Boots the Bishop, voted for Leo!
Albert>
My presbyteral ordination was on Leo’s feast in 1984.
Over the years I have learned to appreciate Leo’s witness more and more, and today I vote for Leo the peacemaker, protector of the people committed to his charge, and of the faith as he received it.
I’m struck by the thought that after all these millennia in the church, we still so often give the job that no one wants to the one who couldn’t make the meeting. Poor Leo! Though successfully negotiating with Attila the Hun is an amazing achievement, I did end up voting for Albert, mainly because of John Cabot’s rhyming skills.
Leo fought energetically against the Manicheans in Gaul- that sounds to me as though Leo was trying to suppress the variety of Christianity that had arrived in the South of France very early, and that we know little about. The legend of Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, La Sainte Baume cave where Mary Magdalen lived out her life: oral traditions passed on by local people are all we have left. The winners write history, etc. I vote for Albert.
Two greats today — Albert was definitely a renaissance man born too early. But Leo was a pastor, a defender of truth, and a peacemaker willing even to negotiate with terrorists, and with some success at it.
He would have had my vote even if I had not been ordained to the priesthood on his feast day 31 years ago. But that kind of clinches it!
Both of these men were truly great! I was going to definitely vote for the accomplished Albert until I read about Leo and was blown away by his peacemaking abilities! I suspect Albert will win — because he is indeed what we all think of as a “winner.” But I think that being a peacemaker trumps all.
Blessed are the peacemakers! One vote for Leo.
I had no idea that scientists had a patron saint! Being a scientist is often a lonely business but I find it more comforting than I would have expected to know about Albert the Great and his witness. I think I will add his picture to my lab station.
For 18 years, my mother had a fabulous Norwegian forest Cat named Leo who was truly the Great. He had so much personality, won over every guest to her house regardless of their affinity for cats, and was an intrepid traveler, gamely jumping into her minivan for any adventure. So really I had no choice but to vote for Leo the Great in his honor.
A fine, caring pastor was Leo
And he made Christ’s true nature so clear, oh!
But to bargain with Hun
Really makes him the one
Who should win, as far as I can see, oh!
OH sweet Lisa, it’s not OK
to use a rhyme twice either then or today;
if create doggerel you must,
then you will have to trust
in your alphabetical resource from Z back to A.
Uh-oh, are you going to revoke my poetic license? I haven’t written a limerick in years … but in my mind “see, oh” and “clear, oh” were two different words! 🙂
The reverend Lisa had served Christ for years well
but one day decided to dip her pen in the well;
being chidden for repeating,
she averred that “see” and “clear” were the same thing
and of this whole rhyming business shrugged, “Oh, well!”
I’ve never been chidden before!!
… Methinks your first couple of lines there (at least) have too many syllables for normative limerick rhythm.
I would love to make it through one season of Lent Madness without criticizing each other or displaying one’s superior knowledge.
My heart breaks at the kranks who kvetch
about loving creativity used to not to blame but to fetch
fellow pilgrims to fun
while winter has yet to turn to the sun
and we’re all simply ambling to Canterbury feeling free to use lots of syllables
because they’re an awesome way to help Batman/Jesus to combat
the proud and quite frankly tedious villain Jervis Tetch.
I love this thread. Thank you both.
Boy-Howdy!! If the purpose of this year’s match-ups was to force thought and reflection on the variety of ways one can serve the Lord you’ve succeeded!
Well said! From one Mary Beth to another 🙂
I voted for the original “Boots on the Ground.” And during a time of pandemic, how is it possible to ignore the patron saint of the natural sciences? If our “leaders” had believed in science at the start, we might not be staring into the stark and shameful fact of 500,000 Americans dead and more than 2 MM worldwide. God can work through science as well as through doctrine. Anyone who taught Thomas Aquinas had to know his stuff.
“To ce or not to ce: that is the question.” For all who were exercised over the lower-case “ce” in the Tarcisius bio last week, I refer you to the print edition, “The Definitive Guide to Lent Madness: Saintly Scorecard 2021,” page 48. You will discover that CE is indeed capitalized but in a smaller font. This is true as well for Constantine, p 29; Evagrius the Solitary, p 33; Matthias, p 43; Nino of Georgia, p 46; and Theodora the Empress, p 50. I suspect that in being ported from the text version (the slugs of type being carefully, prayerfully, and accurately positioned on the lead sticks by monks devoted exclusively to the printing press and to preserving the secrecy of the recipe to their centuries-old liqueur) onto the creaking worm-eaten html platform of WordPress, whose wondrous quirks (aka irritating deficiencies–such as no “like” button) are by now familiar to us, the font distinctions are lost, reducing CE to a generic lower-case ce. Good scholars always consult the original text. And good Christians reserve their rancor for the kitsch round, at which point you can KRANK it up for the bobble-head, glow-in-the-dark, plastic dashboard saints; or better yet, call out the grifting false prophets who preach passivity to power and pass the plate in maskless churches, fleecing their flock even as they place those little ones at risk of illness and death.
The arguments for Leo are very convincing, and negotiating with Attila the Hun are impressive (although Attila the Hun has another side that we often don’t read about–another discussion for another day). I will vote, though, for Albert, as I know some Dominicans, and Albert was a man of faith AND science. My one small argument with the write-up is that I (and many others) do not find alchemy one of the natural sciences. Just sayin’.
Alchemy is not taught in the sciences today, science on the physics side having evolved into pure mathematics. However, alchemy was a branch of natural philosophy, and in the seventeenth century, the age of the scientific revolution, Isaac Newton was very influenced by alchemy. Alchemy persists today in Jungian psychotherapy as a powerful myth of psychic regeneration. Alchemy is about change, and chemistry and psychoanalysis are both about profound changes in substance due to interactions with other substances. During covid, while we are all baking, we are performing alchemy.
My quibble was with alchemy as well. And as I was thinking, “What did the study (major at the time) of alchemy do for modern science?” along came St. Celia to parse it out for me. Thanks to Sarah P. and St. Celia for the call and response.
Agreed. Leo might have been a “peacemaker” but he sounds pretty bossy about what people should believe, in a “my way of the highway” kind of way. Particularly his dishing of Pelagius, who has seen a resurgence in our affinity for Celtic spirituality, no help from Leo. I vote for Albert!
I chose Albert because we need truth right now as expressed in science to protect the earth and to address the ravages of covid. We are at a tipping point with global warming and with mass species extinction unheard of on planet earth, this beautiful home God made for us that we have failed to love and protect. Animals, plants, oceans, rivers, plains, mountains, ecosystems need our fierce love and protection before it’s too late. Global warming has begun wreaking the havoc we’ve been told it would. Even covid, it’s been postulated, is a factor of our degradation of the natural world. Same goes for something like Lyme disease, now endemic where I live in the Northeast — a result of a warming climate plus ecosystems increasingly out of balance. We need to look at how we’re living and repent, turn around, make a change. Hearing the comments especially from fellow Lenten Madness-ers who are scientists about Albert is something I find really moving. I’ve spent time, because my spouse has been a travel writer the past 20 years, in the remnants of the world of the 4th century — in Spain, in Portugal, in Italy especially, so I want to learn more about Leo. But right now for me it’s the very concept of empire, of conquest, of exploitation –regardless of the groups vying for power — that I find distressing. We need to spend more time in nature, we need to see ourselves as fellow organisms on the planet not masters of all we survey, we need to love God’s creation — and I feel Albert as an early naturalist and scientist provides a stronger representation of those values.
Very eloquent. I have heard it said that capitalism has no natural enemies. I would like to believe that Christianity is the natural enemy of capitalism.
Need a “like” button for that one!
I agree!
I have a young friend that would appreciate that idea, St. Celia. Thank you.
I’m almost ready to decide between Albertus and Leo.
AMEN!!
May we make it so.
I really appreciate our view of Leo as a peacemaker and I personally would be quaking in my boots in front of Atilla the Hun. That said, I don’t think if him as a peacemaker in the sense of “Blessed are the Peacemakers.” He really stamped on the varieties of Christendom that existed (in the name of defending against “heresies”) and he spent years politicking to elevate Rome over the other Bishops, thus really breaking down the ecumenism of the early church. It doesn’t seem admirable to me. It seems greedy. And we don’t see him going out to make peace with Atilla or the goths, he only wants them to not sack the seat of his power and wealth. Leo is not “great” in my opinion.
Fascinating perspective. Thank you for this insight.
I voted for Albert, in part because of early prejudice against Leo whom we called ‘the first pope.’ Have a hard time with the papal link back to Peter. And I all for science.
After reading all the comments up to now, I’m going to support the scientist. For my husband, a geologist, and because putting some trust in God’s book of Works would give the Church a far better witness, in these complicated times, plus prompt much better care for this Creation, the only one God gave us and asked us to care for! Besides, we have a very good friend from Köln, our first exchange student!
If I had not already voted for Leo, the comments would have shifted my vote to him. Leo! Leo!
I’m going with Albert. His is a testimony that science and God are linked. At a time in our history when people want to for go both science and God we need to hear the good works of Albert.
This was indeed a difficult choice. Leo negotiated with Attilla the Hun – Wow! But I had to go with Albert who walked everywhere as do I. I also have two siblings who trained in zoological fields. So, Albert it is today!
Going with Albert today to remember back to a time when science and religion were not on opposite ends
Oh, good point, Linda! Thanks for that insight.
I was distressed in year 3 EfM to learn of all the fighting, arguing, and killing that happened over the nature of Jesus the Christ. How much human? How much divine? How did they mix up -or not mix up? People were killed over these questions. So I am voting for Leo whose answer stopped the argument. But it’s hard not no vote for Boots the Bishop and scientist.
The Gray Household votes for the peacemaker and negotiator, Leo the Great. (With one dissenting vote by T – the dad). God grant us shalom in the home for the remainder of this pandemic!
Albert had me at ‘scholar, scientist….. ‘. And arsenic!
Patron saint of rats . . . not!
Tough decision today! Both the Great’s are truly great! But Albert’s feast day is my birthday, so that’s whi I voted for.
I was having a tough time with this match-up. I didn’t really get from the write-up why Albert was cannonized but as the patron saint of medical technicians and scientists I was leaning toward Albert. Then part of Leo’s write-up made me think he was just power hungry so even more leaning toward Albert. Then came this quote “Leo wrote with authority, dignity, and clarity that Jesus Christ is one person, the Divine Word, in whom human and divine natures are fully united without either confusion or mixture.”. That swayed me and I had to vote for Leo.
Now I understand why I picked Leo as my “Confirmation Name” in the Catholic church we attended when I was a boy … Back then I picked Leo because my dad’s middle name was Lee and it was a close match. My dad was my hero. Now St. Leo is too.
Got to vote for Albert who was truly a Multi-talented person with great depth. Leo while perhaps a great negotiator opposed Pelagius who was at the roots of the Celtic and Anglican legacy.
Josh Hawley wrote an article for Christianity Today in 2019 excoriating Pelagius as the source of elitism and selfishness in American culture. He argued that Pelagius promoted a licentious and egotistical view of freedom and was therefore favored by wealthy Romans, who wanted to keep power. Hawley then openly supported a white supremacist insurrection in the nation’s capitol in order to catapult himself into those same ranks of wealthy and powerful Romans. Apart from calling out Hawley’s naked ambition and hypocrisy–and unsuitability for office by way of misuse of Christian principles, we need to reconsider some of these early figures in Christian history for their theology and their ongoing role in our evolving understanding of Christian charism. As Faulkner said, “the past isn’t dead; it’s not even past.” Who are Constantine, Augustine, Pelagius, Manichius, and Athanasius for us today? What DO our creeds mean for us? Fredric Jameson says it’s the nature of our mediations that matters; in our efforts to understand reality, there are good interpretations and bad interpretations. If we are the “via media”–or more appropriately today, the “via mediativa”–then we should be reconsidering, as the body of Christ, what our credal tradition means for us, what our early figures in their disputes can offer us, and how our spiritual and doctrinal heritage can evolve to help us face a parlous world on behalf of all our brothers and sisters “animal, vegetal, and mineral” (to quote that great saint the modern major general). What does Christian freedom mean today and how should we use it?
My recollection was Pelagius got into hot water either the established Church for promoting the good in people as opposed to the evil Augustine saw. I do not see how that is egotistical or elitist. Pelagius also promoted the equality of women and the Celtic reverence of nature. I think Hawkey must be an Augustinian.
Hawley is an opportunist.
With a son who is a respiratory therapist and has been on the Covid frontlines since the beginning, Albert, the patron Saint of Medical technicians, would have my vote in any event; I truly appreciate Leo as peacemaker and diplomat, but it’s Albert for me!
I’m a sucker for a renaissance man. Boots it is!
I’m always voting for the underdog. Leo indeed won over Attila the Hun, an impressive feat. And he did it for love and peace. Whom would I like to meet in their own times? Leo the Great, without a doubt.
A hard choice between two great saints who both deserve the appellation “Great.” U voted for
Albert in the end because I admire his great scholarly attainments.
Two outstanding saints who both deserve the appellation “Great.” I voted for Albert because I admire his great scholarly attainments..
Voting for Leo because peacemakers are so important. (And also because the Dean of Canterbury Cathedral has a fabulous cat named Leo!)
I vote for Albert. His service to God and man were great indeed. Leo deserves credit for trying to save the treasures of Rome.
Since today is the Roman feast of the chair of Peter, and my brother’s name included “Leo,” even though a very good friend we call Albertus Magnus, I felt that Leo deserves the accolades!
Two GREAT ones but have to go with Albert – his scholarly interest in Aristotle and having Thomas Aquinas as a STUDENT (!), his many contributions to natural science and getting his 10,000 steps in each day – I have to go with “Boots the Bishop”!
My vote is for Albert in honor of my late nephew Albert Daniel, a scientist, and his also late father Albert Leon (how’s that for making the choice harder!) not a scientist, but a sweetie pie.
Leo is one of the names of my kid brother, and also today is the Roman Feast Day of the Chair of Peter.
So, even though we call a very dear friend “Albertus Magnus,” I voted for Leo.
Anyone nicknamed “Boots” in this winter gets my vote!
Peace maker was the sway for me.
The German Wikipedia page for Leo der Große lists his attribute as the dragon and says he is the patron of singers, musicians and organists. I know that St. Cecilia is patron of all things musical, but I can find nothing elsewhere about Leo’s affinity for music. Does anyone have more information about this? Be that as it may, Leo, God’s Lion, has got my vote.
Tough one because Leo’s feat day is my birthday…shared also by Martin Luther.
Another really difficult choice today. I have quoted from Albert the Great in a dissertation and really admire his significant achievements in the fields of science and theology, however my father was named for Leo, as is my son. In a world of widening divisions, a vote for a peacemaker is a good path to choose. And if, as seems likely, Albert goes through I will happily vote for Albert next time.
Close matchup as they are both very deserving. I grew up in Bavaria and have visited Cologne, so I’m partial to Albert.
Blessed is Leo, a much-needed peace makers.
I like the idea of Leo the peacemaker. But are you waging peace if you squelch ideas that do not coincide with your worldview even if you speak with authority? This is my first day with the Lent madness and the writings lead me down several
rabbitholes. I was not familiar with the specific heresies listed so I googled and brittanicalled them. Why is pelagianism heretical? I like Leo’s understanding of Christ as both and. Would he have considered Trinitarianism heresy? This game makes me pursue further reading on early Christianity and thats a good thing. The story of Leo also makes me consider can we be both peacemaker and agressor? The legacy of “Boots” was interesting and he is a fellow writer, but I think the actions of Leo will have more legs.
It’s Albert for me. Leo seems to have received his fame and rewards while alive. Albert seems to be one so busy working to help others his material rewards were fewer. The quiet, humble type, that’s what I like. Leo’s all dolled up in his picture, while Albert is surrounded by papers and books, pen in hand inspired by an image of Mary.
Extra points for Albert’s passing on my birthday.
Belated best wishes on your 740th birthday, Richard!
;^)
And many happy returns! Well played, CaBoots.
Well, I never learned in my medical technology internship (my first career) that we had a patron saint. So, for that reason only, I am voting for Albert the Great!
Two Greats —
Neither one berate.
Facing the Hun,
seems hard to be done.
Just one meeting– you failed to go.
And upon your head, they hung the Bishop chapeau.
Centuries later —
came one greater?
Thinker, Bishop, teacher,
Influenced Aquinas and the study of creature.
Eclectic his interest–
(If only he’d had Pinterest!)
Sewing the Gospel roots,
In only his black boots,
Renders him just slightly More,
And I did vote for.
I like it!
My vote is for Leo. Although I admite all devoted academics we need more peacemakers today..
Hard choice today… a believer in science and a believer in peace..both are needed
now more than ever! At first, I didn’t quite understand the pairing but, given where
our country is in 2021…makes perfect sense! Cudo’s for those who nominated….
While I was leaning toward voting for the peacemaker, I have to go with Albert as a religious person who believed in SCIENCE!
Vote (at this point..10:00 Pacific Standard time) is closer than I thought it would be. On the one hand, we have an over achiever (bet he couldn’t sit still and focus in school!) who seemed to excel in everything he did. And humanity has benefited many times over for his contributions. On the other hand, he have a quiet man, going where he was needed to help settle arguments and differences both within the church as well as outside its walls. I can see him…quietly listening to ‘both sides’ and then dispensing words of wisdom that settled the issues. Peacemaking IS hard and in this day and age when humanity doesn’t seem able to agree on anything, we disparately need peacemakers. Leo the Great has my vote.
Albert is the science saint. The only one in the bracket. Although I admire Leo’s peace skills and know they are important, it’s Albert for me!
A difficult decision today. Albert had me at Boots Bishop. My long ago first cat was named Boots. I spend a part of each day trying to get a COVID vaccination so my thoughts are with our besieged medical workers. And as a Roman by baptism who fled to the Anglican Church, papal authority gives me an itch. Albert it is.
I think Albert has got this in the can, but I voted for the peacemaker Leo because we need more people like him now. Plus I’m a member of the Lions Club (Panthera Leo)
I’ll have to vote for Albert as the Patron Saint of Cincinnati! But I’m also a Leo.
It wasn’t easy to choose today, but I voted for Albertus. The combination of science and religion is what finally won me over. Plus our parish shares space with a group of Dominicans who lead the campus ministry of a nearby university.
But I won’t throw a fit if Leo wins.
Going with then German. Albert the
Great!
After reading about Albert, I thought that I was going to go with him, but Leo’s efforts at peacemaking really impressed me.
Our CREDO Team leader is Albert…and he is fabulous! 13th century or 21st century- Alberts rock!
Boots the bishop! Good one! But for the shallowest of reasons, my vote goes to Albert. I’m Cincinnati born and bred. . . .and then Albert is the name of my husband’s father, a man I never met but who left an indelible mark on the spirit of my dear husband. Then there is the Summa which I was blest (cursed?) to study in college taught by a Dominican; something that I KNOW would never have happened without Aquinas’ association with Albert (and had I been left to my own devices would have missed out on.) In truth both of today’s candidates are most worthy!
Blessed be the Renaissance Man with good “boots” Albert.
Anyone with a brilliant mind ike Albert, who can bring together Christianity and science into his thinking about life, gets my vote. Thanks, Bertie.
Leo the Great Lion Heart! He clarified Christ’s nature for all of us and had the courage to meet with the Huns. Without Leo it is possible Albert would be known to us only for his academic prowess.
I had to go with Albert because his great faith was combined with his great intellectual curiosity. Seeing science as contributing to our understanding of God’s great majesty and not in opposition to it, as many Christian sects today have done, is critical to our call to care for all of God’s creation. The thirst for knowledge is not “elitist “; it is for the greater glory of God! (And anyone who taught Aquinas had to be really something!)
Blessed are the Peacemakers… We need more Leos in this world!
A bishop’s primary job is UNITY, to maintain unity in the church, unifying the body of the church.
We are all brothers and sisters born in the image of God. Leo gets my vote !
Preach
Leo is creeping up!
Vote for Peace. Vote for Leo
While reading about Albert, as a former EMT, I was thinking, “Well, he’s got my vote.” But then I read about Leo. Being a peacemaker is really important, but the fact that he defined both the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ, which many cannot understand, put him over the top.
Let’s hear it for the Great Leo.
This one was close, because we have two very worthy candidates. I voted for Albert because he had a place in his life for both science and God.
Albert seems to be the logical choice because of his widespread accomplishment. I chose Leo because of his writings about Christ and peacemakers have a difficult job.
Let’s see… the “father” of Thomas Aquinus v. the “father” of the Formulation of Calcedon? Wow. A theological dilemma!
I’m going with the peacemaker, and Christ as unity. Go! Leo!
As a retired biologist, I was going to vote for Albert but then Leo’s clarification of the God-Man Jesus Christ is foundational to our faith. I voted for Leo because Albert should have instructed his student Aquinas to be less obsessive about ‘original sin’ and the guilt it has caused for millennia. Although those ideas of Aquinas may have evolved after Albert was enjoying his heavenly reward.
Albert taught another great saint St.Thomas Aquinas, was great scientist and had a cool nickname. St. Albert the great for me!
Why did it take so long to recognize Albert as a saint and doctor? A little suspicious.
Your weekly sideshow was certainly interesting!
I’m really torn today, but I’m end up going with Leo, because while science is really important, making peace is even more so. Besides, I have a soft spot for Leo, whose story brings back memories of singing in the chorus for a production of Verdi’s “Atilla,” culminating with Leo turning the Hun back from Rome.
I felt drawn to vote for Leo as his example as a peace seeker and a leader speaks of humility and strength of character. That kind of leadership is needed as much now as it was then.
With a child in German Immersion at school who wants to become a scientist, it was always going to be Albert for me!
Scientist versus power broker: after seeing in the past year what happens when the latter trample on the former, I’m going with Albert (who was Great because of his learning and his lasting influence, and obviously couldn’t stand being a bishop!).
As a retired Medical Laboratory Scientist (Med Tech) I had to vote for Albert. My paternal grandfather’s name was Albert, too.
Negotiation is an art form that requires deep understanding of both yourself and your counterpart(s). The path to that knowledge is what likely influenced Leo’s assertion that the human and divine exist as one. True alchemy! Bravo Leo!
What’s with all these RC guys? We are Episcopalians not even Uniates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We inherited quite a number of Roman saints, plus we have those we have added and those recognized by the Orthodox and Coptic churches, so there is a large pool for nominations to be drawn from. If you look at the bracket, you’ll see all the names, some of which are not on the Roman list, including who I’d like to see win this year: the Rev. Absalom Jones of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.
Great write up Neva Rae Fox. Going with Leo. I have a brother-in-law named for him.
Leo, Leo, he’s our man!
If he can’t
inspire you to marvel joyfully at the paradoxical union of the two natures of Christ so that you no longer care that you can’t rationally explain it,
No one can!!
Being a Dominican I HAVE to vote for Albertus Magnus, teacher of our brightest light, Thomas Aquinas!
No way I’m voting for Leo, he was anti-Pelagius … like Josh Hawley.
Hats off to Leo who sacrificed his own opinions and knowledge for a deeper wisdom in action that united churches to gain higher glory to serve the eternal kingdom.
As much as I admire the peacemakers, with two scientist daughters (one in medical research), I have to vote for Albert. Thank you all for the thoughtful and creative comments!
Three generations of my family worshiped at the erstwhile St. Leo Catholic Church on the south side of Chicago. My father, three of his cousins, and 10 of my cousins attended graduated from its grade school. My father was valedictorian of Leo High School’s Class of 1933, and two of my male cousins attended it. In addition to that, the dog I adopted two years ago was already named Leo. How could I vote for anyone else?
If it hadn’t been for all that, I would have been torn. Having a graduate degree, I admire scholarship. and therefore Albert the Great. It’s a toss-up whether our country currently needs more knowledge or more peace. In a perfect world, knowledge would lead to peace. We certainly saw the results of ignorance displayed on January 6.
Come on folks, a peacemaker who staved off Atilla the Hun? You Albert voters have got to be kidding!!!!!
LEO IS MY CHOICE, ALTHOUGH ALBERT IS CLOSE BEHIND. THEY ARE BOTH
HEROES.