St. Hilary of Poitiers: Bishop and Defender of the Trinity
Quick answer
St. Hilary of Poitiers (about 315–368) was a pagan philosopher in Gaul who came to faith through reading Scripture. Married with a daughter, he was chosen bishop of Poitiers around 350. He defended the divinity of Christ against Arianism, was exiled by the emperor to Asia Minor, and there wrote his great work On the Trinity. He was a mentor to St. Martin of Tours. He is a Doctor of the Church. His feast is January 13.
Key takeaways
- He came to faith by reading the Bible, especially the Gospel of John.
- He was exiled to Phrygia from 356 to about 360.
- His treatise On the Trinity is the first great Latin work on the subject.
- He is called the "Athanasius of the West."
St. Hilary of Poitiers found God the way a philosopher would, by searching for the truth. He found it in the Bible, and then spent his life defending it, at great cost.
A Seeker Finds God
Hilary was born around 315 in Poitiers, in Gaul (France), into a pagan family. He received an excellent education. As a young man he asked the great questions: why we are here, what happiness is, who God is. Pagan philosophy did not satisfy him.
Reading the Bible, he was struck by God’s name revealed to Moses, “I am who am” (Exodus 3:14), and then by the opening of John’s Gospel: the Word who was God became flesh. He was baptized with his wife and daughter.
Bishop of Poitiers
Around 350, the people chose Hilary as their bishop. At that time the emperor Constantius II favored the Arians, who taught that the Son was not fully God. Many bishops gave in under pressure. Hilary refused. In 356 the emperor exiled him to Phrygia, in present-day Turkey.
Fruitful Exile
Hilary used his exile well. He learned Greek theology and met Eastern bishops. He wrote his great work On the Trinity, defending the truth that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one God. He closed it with a prayer asking God to keep his faith pure and to let him always worship the Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit.
His opponents found him so troublesome in the East that they asked the emperor to send him home.
Return to Gaul
Back in Poitiers around 360, Hilary worked to bring the bishops of Gaul back to the faith of Nicaea. Like St. Athanasius in the East, he became a pillar of orthodoxy, and he is called the “Athanasius of the West.”
A young former soldier named Martin came to him to learn. Hilary encouraged him, and Martin founded the monastery of Ligugé near Poitiers, the first in Gaul. Martin later became the beloved bishop of Tours.
Hilary also wrote hymns and commentaries on the Psalms and the Gospel of Matthew. He died around 368 and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1851.
A Prayer for Firm Faith (Original Prayer)
St. Hilary, you sought the truth and found it in Christ. Keep my faith in the Holy Trinity firm, help me study God’s word, and give me courage when the truth is unpopular. Amen.
Continue Reading
Read about St. Martin of Tours, Hilary’s disciple, St. Ambrose, or Emperor Constantine and the Council of Nicaea.
Frequently asked questions
When is the feast of St. Hilary of Poitiers?
January 13.
Was St. Hilary married?
Yes. He was married before becoming a bishop and had a daughter, Abra. In the early Church married men could be chosen as bishops.
What is the Hilary term?
Some English universities and courts name the term beginning in January after him, because his feast falls at its start.
Sources
- St. Hilary of Poitiers, De Trinitate
- Sulpicius Severus, Life of St. Martin
- Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience on St. Hilary (October 10, 2007)
