St. Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers: ca. 315-368 A.D., feast January 13
Birth, family background, and baptism
St. Hilary was born in Poitiers, in western Gaul, about 50 miles southwest of Tours, in ca. 315 A.D. His parents were pagan, but they belonged to a wealthy and noble ancestry. Hilary's parents provided him with an excellent education, especially in the Latin classics, and even in Greek. Hilary got married and had a daughter by the name of Apra. He read the Bible, found an answer in his search for truth, and was baptized in his early thirties.
Bishop of Poitiers
Though he was a layman, St. Hilary was chosen by the people to become Bishop of Poitiers. Despite his objections, he was elected bishop ca. 350 or 353 A.D. The people's choice proved to be right because St. Hilary attracted the attention of the whole Church. Hilary distinguished himself well by his stand against Arianism. He became one of the most staunch defenders of the Divinity of Christ. In his stand on orthodoxy, St. Hilary became known as "the Hammerer of the Arians".
Struggle against Arianism led to his exile
Upon Emperor Constantine's death, his son Constantius ruled the Eastern empire from 337 to 350 A.D., and then both the East and West from 350 to 361 A.D. Constantius called a council at Beziers in 356 A.D. In this council, Bishop Saturninus of Arles spoke in favor of Arianism. A few bishops courageously took the position of the Council of Nicaea, and went against Bishop Saturninus. St. Hilary was one of those few bishops. Saturninus reported Hilary to Emperor Constantius, who then sent Hilary into exile. Hilary was escorted out of his see and exiled in Phrygia, in Asia Minor. It was here that Hilary remained for four years. But he took time to compose his masterpiece - the 12 "books" of De Trinitate, On the Trinity.
A final battle with Bishop Saturninus and the Arians
In 359 A.D., Emperor Constantius called a council at Seleucia in Isauria to counter the decrees of the council of Nicaea. St. Hilary was invited out of exile to attend the council. At Seleucia, St. Hilary was successful in refuting Arianism. He was able to encourage the clergy to resist the heresy. After this event, Hilary traveled to Constantinople to request the Emperor (through his Second Book to Constantius), to hold a public debate with Saturninus. In a synod that was convoked (through Hilary's action), Bishop Saturninus was deposed and excommunicated. Finally in 361 A.D., the death of Emperor Constantius ended the Arian persecution of Catholics.
A battle with Arian Bishop Auxentius before retirement
Back in his own diocese, Hilary had to contend with the final stronghold of Arianism in Milan, where the Arian bishop was Auxentius. In 364 A.D., Hilary traveled to Milan. He engaged Bishop Auxentius in a public debate and won Auxentius over to confess Christ to be true God. After all these battles with Arianism, St. Hilary settled down to a peaceful life. He resumed his writing on the Scriptures. He also wrote De synodis, and Opus historicum.
Death and proclamation of the title Doctor of the Church
St. Hilary died in Poitiers, probably in 368 A.D. He was both Latin Father of the Church and a Doctor of the church (proclaimed so by Pope Pius IX in 1851 A.D.)
note:Fathers of the Church are saintly writers of the early Christian centuries whom the Church recognizes as special witnesses of the faith. The Age of the Church Fathers ended between 636-749 A.D. On the other hand, the title Doctor of the Church is a title that only started to be conferred during the Middle Ages. The title was given to certain saints whose teaching is outstanding for guiding the faithful in all periods of the Church's history. St. Hilary of Poitiers is one of the few who is regarded as both Father of the Church and Doctor of the Church. His feast is celebrated every January 13.
Sources of this blog post:
- Dictionary of Saints, by John J. Delaney
- A Year with the Saints, by Don Bosco Press, Inc.
- Saints for Our Time, by Ed Ransom
- The Doctors of the Church, volume one, by John F.
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