January 13—St. Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

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Is Jesus God or not? That was key question of the fourth century and beyond that faced the Church. Some, with Arius, said that since Jesus was “begotten of the Father,” that meant he was a creature, albeit the first creature of God. Others, with St. Athanasius, said that Jesus is “begotten, not made” and thus consubstantial with the God the Father. Today’s saint helped hammer home the truth of who Jesus is by his opposition to the Arians and support of St. Athanasius, so much so he was called “Hammer of the Arians” and “Athanasius of the West.”

Born about A.D. 310 in Poitiers, France to pagan parents, St. Hilary received a good pagan education, later studying Scripture, thus resulting in his conversion to Christianity, along with his wife and daughter. He was elected bishop of Poitiers around A.D 350. Even though Arianism was condemned at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 it was still in force throughout the empire, much due to the efforts of different emperors. So St. Hilary attempted to get Arian bishops turned back to the true faith. He also wrote Emperor Constantius II to stop Arians persecuting orthodox Christians, which resulted in his exile in 356. After his exile in 361, he returned in Poitiers and continued to fight for the true understanding of the Trinity against the Arians. He died in 367.

Falsehoods and lies take a long time to die. They are like a many-headed hydra, which keeps sprouting new variations on lies that are condemned and refuted. We need to endure and persevere in living the Truth. St. Paul wrote: “No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). We must remain faithful to the Truth of Jesus Christ. St. Hilary, pray for us.

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hilaryofpoitiers.jpg

Richard de Montbaston et collaborateurs., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

January 13--St. Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

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Arianism is the heresy that teaches that Jesus cannot be God because there is only one God and if Jesus is God, then there are two gods. Arius got it partially right and completely wrong. There is only one God AND Jesus is God: “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father” as it says in the Nicene Creed adopted at the Council of Nicaea in 325.

So, what does this have to do with our saint? St. Hilary of Poitiers was born in 315, was baptized in 350, and was acclaimed bishop in 353. As bishop he held the truth of the Catholic Church against Arianism and was banished by the emperors, who supported Arianism. St. Hilary wrote a major treatise against Arianism in order to teach why Jesus is God as well as the Son of God. St. Hilary died in 368. Arianism was condemned again in 381 and finally defeated in the sixth century in France.

Heresies start out as logical conclusions based on specific choices, but without taking into context the whole of the faith. For example, Arianism was based on the oneness of God, which is true. However, it did not take into account the faith that Jesus is God. And for that, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, were lured away from the true faith. People today are also lured away from the faith by denials of the truths of God. They rely on their own choices and make up their own faith and call it Catholic. We must stand true to the faith of Jesus in the Church, even if it means banishment from our society.

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint-Hilaire-de-Poitiers_Reliquienschrein.jpg