St Hilary of Poitiers

The picture in the title above depicts the ordination of St Hilary. He became a Catholic around 345 AD when he was baptised: he had grown up in a seemingly well-to-do family, having been born about 310, and had benefitted from a good education. Around 353-354 he was elected and ordained Bishop of Poitiers. His great learning quickly catapaulted him into the heart of the great Arian crisis in the West. He used his powerful intellect to articulate a clear doctrine of the Trinity, defending the true Divinity of Christ and also Christ's humanity, and he did so in a very original and tightly argued form. He wrote a number of works. In this he was also influenced by the theology of the Church in the East: he spent about 4 or 5 years in the East after being exiled to Phrygia by the then Arian Emperor Constans at the instigation of a group of heretical bishops. Even in the East he showed his characteristic courage in defending the Faith, so much so that he was allowed to return to the West - which sounds as if the Arians in the East could no longer cope with him. Back in the West he continued to preach the Faith, helping to reconcile heretical groups through his gentle and persuasive presentation of the Creed. Hilary finally died around 367, leaving a valuable corpus of works, much of which has influenced theology and liturgy in the West in numerous ways. He died after having a more peaceful period in which to reflect upon the Scriptures and he was the first Father of the West to develop a commentary on the Psalms.

Pope Benedict quoted a beautiful passage from St Hilary's writings last Wednesday: "God only knows how to be love, only knows how to be Father. And he who loves is not envious, and whoever is Father, is so totally. This name does not allow for compromise, as if to say that God is father only in certain aspects and not in others” (De Trinitate 9:61).

There is so much in Hilary which is incisive and yet beautiful, full of strength of Faith and humility before the Truth which is Christ.

I was very fortunate to visit Poitiers and you can still see there the earliest surviving baptistery in France. It was Hilary who ordered it to be built around 360. It has a nearly-full immersion font inside. Here is a picture of the baptistery...

and the font....















Sadly the Cathedral in Poitiers doesn't seem to give much honour to the first known Bishop of Poitiers. His relics are stuck in a corner by the altar of St Lawrence.