St. Hilary of Poitiers

Preserver of Western Orthodoxy 315 -386

Dec 7, 2008 Marilynn Hughes

When a saint is given the title 'Doctor of the Church' it is the church's exhortation that their writings can be considered faithful to the Magisterium of the Church.

It was during the Arian heresy that St. Hilary of Poitiers became known as the ‘Athanasius of the West’ for his staunch defense of the divinity of Christ. Arianism was a heresy which propounded that Christ was created and thus, only a man – not eternal. St. Hilary became the Preserver of Western Orthodoxy by defending the teachings of the Catholic Church in that Christ is both divine and human at the same time – the two cannot be separated from one another.

Peaceful and Trying Times

St. Hilary was born at Poitiers it is believed of wealthy pagan parents. There are some contradictions in the histories of his life in that one tradition very clearly states that he was happily married with a daughter whom he adored named Abra. Baptized as an adult, St. Hilary explained his conversion process in his first work On the Trinity.

The first years of his episcopate were peaceful and amiable as he focused much of his energies on his Commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew. Times began to change for St. Hilary when he openly opposed a man named Saturninus, Bishop of Arles and staunch Arian. Again exile followed by return and another exile occurred as the battles between the sects raged.

St. Hilary of Poitiers Greatest Writings During Exile

It was during these times of exile when St. Hilary was frustrated by his inability to receive answers to letters he had sent to bishops, that he began compiling De Synodis, a book consisting of 92 chapters explaining in great detail the Church councils and creeds and expelling the conflicting reports about Arianism. He used his pen to fight his battle, and he won.

But it was only the death of Constantius in 364 that ended the persecution of Catholics by the Arians. And in 364, St. Hilary held a public debate with the Arian authority of the time to prove his points. St. Hilary died in the city of his birth, Poitiers, on November 1, 386 A.D.

Pope Pius IX declared St. Hilary of Poitiers a Doctor of the Church in 1851.

St. Hilary of Poiters Written Works

Commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew, De Synodis, De Trinitate, Twelve Books Against the Arians, On Faith, On the Trinity, Contra Auxentium, Many Hymns

The Third Doctor of the Catholic Church

The Fifth Doctor of the Catholic Church

Sources: The 33 Doctors of the Church – By Fr. Christopher Rengers, A Catholic Dictionary – By William Addis, The Writings of the Early Church Fathers (Thirty Eight Volumes): Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post Nicene – Hendrickson Publishers, Dictionary of Saints – By John J. Delaney, Encyclopedia of Heresies and Heretics – By Chas S. Clifton, A Scholastic Miscellany: Anselm to Ockham – Edited by Eugene R. Fairweather, A Short History of Christian Doctrine: From the First Century to the Present – By Bernhard Lohse

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St. Hilary of Poiters