Saint Hilary of Poitiers
Hilary of Poitiers was born around 310-315 in Poitiers. Originating from a noble and pagan family in Aquitaine, he possessed a certain aptitude for academic pursuits owing to a robust literary education. Nevertheless, he harbored concerns regarding the meaning of life, as well as inquiries on happiness, death, and the existence of a Deity. On a particular occasion, he encountered a passage from the Bible “I am he who is.” Subsequently, his spiritual journey towards God hastened, and he received baptism at around the age of 30 in 345. Several years later, while a family man, he ascended to the position of the inaugural bishop of Poitiers in 353, and gained distinction as France's foremost theologian. Hilary of Poitiers opposed Arianism, a heresy denying the equivalence of Christ and the Father in essence. By condemning this, Hilary was banished by the Emperor. Adhering to the Nicene Council of 325, which affirmed the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father (signifying the Father and Son as one God), Hilary asserted himself as a champion of the Trinitarian doctrine. Passing away in Poitiers in 367, he is commemorated annually by the Church on January 13. As a member of the Fathers of the Church, Saint Hilary of Poitiers was posthumously honored as a Doctor of the Church in 1851 by Pius IX. Presently, he is revered as the patron saint of Parma, Italy.
So, let's discover his life, his influence and what he can still tell us today.
(Discover other figures of holiness in the Guide to Saints on Hozana.)
What can we learn from Hilary of Poitiers?
Hilary of Poitiers, a defender of the Dogma of the Trinity
In exile in Phrygia, in present-day Turkey, Saint Hilary of Poitiers was confronted with an environment dominated by Arianism. This current perceives in Jesus, the Son of God, a mere creature or a simple created being, thus inferior to the Father. It was in this context that he devoted all his energy to combat this heretical doctrine by defending the “Trinitarian Dogma”, through his work regarded as the most significant “De Trinitate” (On the Trinity). In this work, he demonstrates that Sacred Scripture affirms that the Father and the Son share the same nature and essence, both in the New Testament and the Old Testament. Hilary elaborated a Trinitarian theology notably based on the formula “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. Moreover, he elaborates his thoughts stemming from baptism. In his work De Trinitate, he states for instance: Jesus “commanded to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (cf. Mt 28:19), that is, in the confession of the Author, the only Son, and the Gift. There is only one Author of all things, for God the Father is one, from whom everything proceeds. And our Lord Jesus Christ is one, through whom everything was made (1 Cor 8:6), and the Spirit is one (Eph 4:4), a gift in all... Nowhere can one find that something is lacking in such a great fullness, where the immensity of the Eternal converges in the Father, in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit, the revelation in the Image, the joy in the Gift” (De Trinitate 2:1). God the Father, being entirely love, is capable of fully communicating his divinity to the Son “.
What can Saint Hilary of Poitiers bring us today?
Faithfulness in faith and the search for the truth
By fighting Arianism and defending the Dogma on the Trinity, Saint Hilary can teach us to remain faithful to all that the Catholic Church teaches us, in order to keep the faith intact.
This fidelity, St Hilary prayed: “I beg you, keep the fervour of my faith intact and until my last breath allow me to conform my voice to my deep conviction. Yes, that I always keep what I affirmed in the symbol proclaimed at my new birth, when I was baptized in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! (Saint Hilary – Treaty of the Trinity III, 57).
Finally, having studied and written a lot, Saint Hilary can also give us the desire to study the Bible and the writings of the Magisterium (the Bishops' Writings) to be in turn, like him, defenders of our faith.
To deepen your knowledge of Saint Hilary of Poitiers
His books and writings
Saint Hilary bequeaths several works and writings as his legacy, such as De Trinitate, his most significant work on the Trinity. He also expounded on the Gospel of Matthew, and the psalms. Lastly, he composed several hymns, such as this one below: The Hymn of Saint Hilary “The merciful Redeemer of the peoples, Jesus, shines today with a triple Splendor”: “The merciful Redeemer of the peoples, Jesus, shines today with a triple Splendor. May the entire faithful race dedicate Him their praises and hymns. A bright star, sparkling in the sky, announces His Birth; it precedes the Magi and guides them to His cradle. They prostrate themselves before This child; they adore Him in swaddling clothes, they acknowledge Him as a God, and offer Him mystical gifts. Having completed the cycle of the year thirty times, and progressed in the days of His mortal life, Jesus requests the waters of Baptism, He who is free from all impurity. The blessed John trembled at the thought of baptizing in the river He whose blood has the power to cleanse the sins of the world. The commanding voice of the Father proclaims the Son from the heights of heaven, and the virtue of the Spirit, the source of sacred gifts, descends visibly. You, whose omnipotent commands cause the water in the vessels of the feast to blush, O Christ, we implore You, extend Your Protection over us all. To the sovereign Trinity, praise, honor, power, and glory, forever and ever. Amen.”
Pray with Saint Hilary of Poitiers
Prayer by Saint Hilary “It is to You that I must dedicate the main occupation of my life”:
“O Father, Almighty God, I am fully aware that it is to You that I must dedicate the principal pursuit of my life. May all my words and reflections revolve around You. For this endowment of speech which You have bestowed upon me can bring me no greater benefit than this: to serve You through preaching and to reveal Your true essence. You are the Father, the Father of the only Son of God. It is my duty to demonstrate this, whether to the unaware world or to the heretic who denies it. My will exists solely for this purpose; furthermore, I must beseech the grace of Your assistance and Your mercy, so that You may fill the sails raised in Your name by our profession of faith with the breath of Your Spirit, and propel us in this mission of preaching... Grant us, therefore, the precise understanding of words, the light of intellect, the elegance of speech, the adherence to orthodox faith; and enable us to proclaim what we believe. Namely, as we acknowledge through the prophets and the Apostles one God, You, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, may we today, against the heretical deniers, praise You as God, yet not a solitary God, and preach this Divine truth without error. Amen.”
Prayer by Saint Hilary “God and Eternal Father:”
When I raised the feeble light of my eyes to your sky, I believed it to be nothing other than your sky. As I contemplate the movements of the celestial bodies and observe each fulfilling its assigned role, I acknowledge, O my God, your presence in these stars beyond the grasp of my intellect. When I direct my thoughts to the earth, which, after receiving the seeds, nurtures their growth, sustains life, and promotes multiplication, I find nothing within my comprehension. Yet, my lack of understanding aids in my contemplation of you; for in my ignorance of the natural order at my disposal, I perceive your benevolence, evident in its service to me. Thus, through my unfamiliarity with the world around me, I grasp the essence of your being; and in recognizing your essence, I offer you reverence. For as long as I partake in the gift of life you have bestowed upon me, Holy Father, Almighty God, I shall acclaim you as the Eternal God and the Eternal Father. Amen.
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