Pope Leo I’s Letters on “The Manichean Perversity”

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Pope Leo I’s Letters on “The Manichean Perversity”, Page 1 of 1

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In January 444, Leo the Great informed the bishops of Italy of the outcome of his investigations into the activities and beliefs of the Manicheans in Rome. His sole surviving letter on the subject gives a detailed account of the senate tribunal over which Leo presided. Three years later, Leo again attacked Manicheism in his lengthy letter to Turibius of Astorga against Priscillianism. Leo’s accusations of sexual immorality against certain members of the Manichean Elect find confirmation in contemporary North African sources and in two later Manichean letters from Turfan, Central Asia. The connection between the Turfan letters and the immoral practices of North African Manicheans is demonstrated. These disparate sources, when considered in combination, force us to reassess and take seriously Leo’s claims that ritual sexual intercourse, perhaps involving children, was practised by the Manichean Elect in Rome as part of their liturgy.