08 — East and West
Hilary as the common patrimony of the undivided Church: a Latin Father venerated in both East and West, kept on 13/14 January and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1851; and the architect of Western Nicene orthodoxy in Gaul, who secured his province for Nicaea, transmitted Greek Trinitarian theology to the Latin world, and mentored Martin of Tours.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (pre-Schism West; Church Father)
Hilary belongs to the era before the schism of East and West, and this section reads him in that light. The first file treats his veneration across the traditions — the January feast (13 January in the post-Tridentine Roman calendar, 14 January in the older Roman and in Orthodox calendars that receive the pre-Schism Western saints, the day that gave its name to “Hilary term”), his 1851 designation as a Doctor of the Church, and the principle by which an Orthodox reader receives a Western Father as part of the undivided Church’s inheritance. The second file treats his foundational role for the Nicene church of Gaul and his mentorship of Martin of Tours — whom he received, ordained, and settled at Ligugé — the line that runs from Hilary through Martin into Gallic monasticism and the Latin Nicene synthesis of Ambrose and Augustine.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| A Western Father in the Orthodox Calendar | Hilary’s veneration East and West; the 13/14 January feast and “Hilary term”; Doctor of the Church (1851); and how an Orthodox reader receives a pre-Schism Western Father. |
| The Nicene Legacy in Gaul | Hilary’s foundational role for Western Trinitarian orthodoxy; the transmission of Greek theology to the Latin West; and his mentorship of Martin of Tours (the Ligugé foundation) and the rise of Gallic monasticism. |
See Also
- The Twelve Books on the Trinity — the work by which the West received Nicaea
- The Return and the Council of Paris — the securing of Gaul for Nicaea
- The Trinitarian Synthesis — the East–West theological bridge
- Relics, Feast, and Cult — the later cult at Poitiers
- St. Martin of Tours — Hilary’s disciple, settled by him at Ligugé
- The Pre-Schism Church — the undivided Church whose patrimony Hilary is
References
- Sulpicius Severus. Life of Martin (Vita Martini) 5–7. Trans. in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 11.
- Jerome. On Illustrious Men (De Viris Illustribus) 100. Trans. in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 3.
- Stancliffe, Clare. St. Martin and His Hagiographer: History and Miracle in Sulpicius Severus. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983.
- Williams, Daniel H. Ambrose of Milan and the End of the Nicene-Arian Conflicts. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995.
- Beckwith, Carl L. Hilary of Poitiers on the Trinity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.