Saint Anthony (251 A.D. - 356 A.D). Abbot. Feast Day 17 January.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

Saint Anthony. 
Abbot.
Feast Day 17 January.

Double.
White Vestments.

Saint Anthony of Egypt.

Venerable and God-bearing

Father of Monasticism.

A Coptic icon, showing, in the lower left,

Saint Anthony with Saint Paul, The First Hermit.

(Wikimedia Commons)

After Saint Paul, The First Hermit, Father of the Anchorites, or Hermits, the Christmas Cycle honours Saint Anthony, Father of the Cenobites, who live in common.

When he was eighteen, he retired into the Egyptian desert and led the life of a Hermit. The devil, in order to frighten him and drive him from the solitude, would appear to him in the most hideous shapes; "but the Lord made him formidable to his foes: One word from his mouth reduced these prodigies to nothingness" (Epistle).

His holiness soon attracted Souls desirous to see the Divine Kingship of Christ more perfectly confirmed in themselves. As a new lawgiver, he gave them "the Doctrine and rule of life that he had received from God in Prayer" (Epistle).

English: St. Anthony's Egyptian Coptic Monastery at Coma, Egypt.

ar:دير_الأنبا_أنطونيوس

en:Monastery of Saint Anthony

eo:Monaĥejo de Sankta Antonio

fr:Monastère Saint-Antoine

it:Monastero di Sant'Antonio

nl:Klooster van Sint Antonius

uk:Монастир Святого Антонія Великого

Date: 7 July 2006(25 March 2008 (original upload date)).

Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Leoboudv using CommonsHelper.

Author: Tentoila (talk).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Italiano: Sono l'autore.

ar:دير_الأنبا_أنطونيوس

en:Monastery of Saint Anthony.

eo:Monaĥejo de Sankta Antonio.

fr:Monastère Saint-Antoine.

it:Monastero di Sant'Antonio.

nl:Klooster van Sint Antonius.

uk:Монастир Святого Антонія Великого.

Date: 30 January 2008 (original upload date).

Source: Transferred from it.wikipedia.

Author: Original uploader was LorisRomito at it.wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Anthony, the first of Abbots, instituted Monastic life in common, by which are formed noble Souls always ready, like their Father in God, to receive the Lord when He shall come to take them from this world (Gospel). Wherefore, today's Mass is that of the Common of Abbots.

He also strenuously fought against Arianism and with Saint Athanasius, who honoured him with his friendship, he successfully defended the Dogma of the Divinity of Christ. He died in 356 A.D., at the age of one hundred and five years.

Let us show forth by the perfection of our lives that we share in the Divinity of Jesus.

Mass: Os justi, of the Abbots.

Deutsch: Antonius Kloster, Ägypten.

English: Monastery of Saint Anthony, Egypt.

Français: Le monastère Saint-Antoine, en Égypte.

Nederlands: Het klooster van Sint-Antonius, in Egypte.

Date: 7 November 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Berthold Werner.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The Monastery of Saint Anthony is a Coptic Orthodox Monastery, standing in an oasis in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, in the Southern part of the Suez Governorate. Hidden deep in the Red Sea mountains, it is located 334 km (208 miles) South-East of Cairo. 

It is one of the oldest Monasteries in the world, together with Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai, which also lays claim to that title. The Monastery of Saint Anthony was established by the followers of Saint Anthony, who is considered to be the first Monk. 

The Monastery of Saint Anthony is one of the most prominent Monasteries in Egypt, and has strongly influenced the formation of several Coptic institutions, and has promoted Monasticism in general. Several Patriarchs have come from this Monastery, and several hundred Pilgrims visit it each day.

Italiano: Sono l'autore

ar:دير_الأنبا_أنطونيوس

en:Monastery of Saint Anthony

eo:Monaĥejo de Sankta Antonio

fr:Monastère Saint-Antoine

it:Monastero di Sant'Antonio

nl:Klooster van Sint Antonius

uk:Монастир Святого Антонія Великого

Date: 30 January 2008 (original upload date).

Source: Transferred from it.wikipedia.

Author: Original uploader was LorisRomito at it.wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Coptic leaders, the Patriarch, the Metropolitans, and the Bishops, have always been recruited from among the desert Monks. In the 1960s, Anba Shenudah initiated the Sunday School movement, which encouraged educated young men to forsake worldly pleasures and instead join their Desert Fathers. 

Since the movement began, the total number of Monks has more than tripled within the first 25 years, and many of these young ascetics have also been promoted to the Episcopacy. At the Monastery of Saint Anthony, the number of Monks increased from twenty-four, in 1960, to sixty-nine, in 1986. By 2010, about one hundred and twenty Monks and Priests live in the Community.

In the past, the overwhelming majority of the Monks in residence were fifty years of age or older, and through the tradition of the other Desert Fathers, their piety was linked to a quality of anti-intellectualism. St. Macarius the Great was a camel herder; St. Macarius of Alexandria was a small shopkeeper; St. Apollo was a goat herder, and St. Paphnutius and St. Pambo were illiterate.

This trend has reversed since the revival of Monasticism in Egypt in the 1960s. Today, Monks are well-educated young men with extensive academic and professional backgrounds in the scientific fields such as engineering, medicine, pharmacy, and architecture.

Saint Marcellus. Papacy 308 A.D.-309 A.D. Pope And Martyr. Feast Day 16 January.

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

English: Pope Saint Marcellus I.

Italiano: Papa Marcelo I.

This File: 29 October 2008.

User: Ilmari Karonen.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Missa Papae Marcelli.

Palestrina,

The Tallis Scholars.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/BRfF7W4El60.

Pope Saint Marcellus I (died 309 A.D.) was the Pope from May or June 308 A.D. to his death in 309 A.D. He succeeded Pope Marcellinus after a considerable interval. Under Emperor Maxentius, he was banished from Rome in 309 A.D., on account of the tumult caused by the severity of the penances he had imposed on Christians who had lapsed under the recent persecution. He died the same year, being succeeded by Pope Eusebius. His Relics are under the Altar of San Marcello al Corso in Rome. His Feast Day is 16 January.

For some time after the death of Pope Marcellinus in 304 A.D., the Diocletian Persecution continued with unabated severity. After the abdication of Diocletian in 305 A.D., and the accession in Rome of Emperor Maxentius to the throne of the Caesars in October of the following year, the Christians of the Capital again enjoyed comparative peace.

The High Altar,

San Marcello al Corso, Rome, Italy,

under which are the Relics of 

Pope Saint Marcellus I.

Photo: 20 July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: SteO153.

Permission: CC-BY-SA-2.5.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Nevertheless, nearly two years passed before a new Bishop of Rome was elected. Then in 308 A.D., according to the Catalogus Liberianus, Pope Marcellus first entered into his Office: "Fuit temporibus Maxenti a cons. X et Maximiano usque post consulatum X et septimum". This abbreviated notice is to be read: "A cons. Maximiano Herculio X et Maximiano Galerio VII [308] usque post cons. Maxim. Herc. X et Maxim. Galer. VII [309]". 

At Rome, Marcellus found the Church in the greatest confusion. The meeting-places and some of the burial-places of the Faithful had been confiscated, and the ordinary life and activity of the Church was interrupted. Added to this, were the dissensions within the Church itself, caused by the large number of weaker members, who had fallen away during the long period of active Persecution and, later, under the leadership of an Apostate, violently demanded that they should be re-admitted to Communion without doing Penance.

English: The Church of San Marcello al Corso, Rome, Italy, 

where the Relics of Pope Saint Marcellus I lay under the High Altar.

Italiano: Chiesa San Marcello al Corso, Rome.

Photo: 13 November 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: sv:User:Torvindus.

(Wikimedia Commons)

According to the Liber Pontificalis, Marcellus divided the territorial administration of the Church into twenty-five Districts (Tituli), appointing over each a Presbyter, who saw to the preparation of the Catechumens for Baptism and directed the performance of public penances. The Presbyter was also made responsible for the burial of the dead and for the celebrations commemorating the deaths of the Martyrs. 

The Pope also had a new burial-place, the Cœmeterium Novellœ on the Via Salaria (opposite the Catacomb of Saint Priscilla), laid out. The Liber Pontificalis (ed. Duchesne, I, 164) says: "Hic fecit cymiterium Novellae via Salaria et XXV titulos in urbe Roma constituit quasi diœcesis propter baptismum et pœnitentiam multorum qui convertebantur ex paganis et propter sepulturas martyrum". 

At the beginning of the 7th-Century, there were probably twenty-five Titular Churches in Rome; even granting that, perhaps, the compiler of the Liber Pontificalis referred this number to the time of Marcellus, there is still a clear historical tradition, in support of his declaration, that the Ecclesiastical administration in Rome was re-organised by this Pope after the great Persecution.

The High Altar,

San Marcello al Corso, Rome, Italy, 

under which are the Relics 

of Pope Saint Marcellus I.

Photo: 20 July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: SteO153.

Permission: CC-BY-SA-2.5.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The work of the Pope was, however, quickly interrupted by the controversies to which the question of the re-admittance of the lapsi into the Church gave rise. As to this, we gather some light from the poetic tribute composed by Pope Damasus I, in memory of his predecessor and placed over his grave (De Rossi, "Inscr. christ. urbis Romæ", II, 62, 103, 138; cf. Idem, "Roma sotterranea", II, 204–5). 

Pope Damasus relates that Pope Marcellus was looked upon as a wicked enemy by all the lapsed, because he insisted that they should perform the prescribed Penance for their guilt. As a result, serious conflicts arose, some of which ended in bloodshed, and every bond of peace was broken. At the head of this band of dissenters was an Apostate who had denied the Faith even before the outbreak of persecution. 

The tyrannical Emperor Maxentius had the Pope seized and sent into exile. This took place at the end of 308 A.D., or the beginning of 309 A.D., according to the passages cited above from the Catalogus Liberianus, which gives the length of the Pontificate as no more than one year, six (or seven) months, and twenty days. Marcellus died shortly after leaving Rome, and was venerated as a Saint.

Liber Pontificalis.

"The Book of Pontiffs".

Artist: Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449–1494).

Title: Saint Jerome in his Study.

Saint Jerome, who, since the 9th-Century, 

was viewed as the original author 

of the Liber Pontificalis.

Date: 1480.

Current location: Chiesa di Ognissanti,

Ognissanti, Florence, Italy.

Source/Photographer: http://www.artunframed.com/.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Chiesa di Ognissanti,,

Florence, Italy.

Web-Site: http://www.chiesaognissanti.it/

Chiesa_Ognissanti/storia.html.

His Feast Day was 16 January, according to the Depositio episcoporum of the Chronography of 354 A.D., and every other Roman authority. Nevertheless, it is not known whether this is the date of his death or that of the burial of his remains, after these had been brought back from the unknown quarter to which he had been exiled. He was buried in the Catacomb of Saint Priscilla, where his grave is mentioned by the itineraries to the graves of the Roman Martyrs as existing in the Basilica of Saint Silvester (De Rossi, Roma sotterranea, I, 176).

A 5th-Century "Passio Marcelli", which is included in the legendary account of the Martyrdom of Saint Cyriacus (cf. Acta Sanct., Jan., II, 369) and is followed by the Liber Pontificalis, gives a different account of the end of Marcellus. According to this version, the Pope was required by Maxentius, who was enraged at his reorganisation of the Church, to lay aside his Episcopal dignity and make an offering to the gods. On his refusal, he was condemned to work as a slave at a station on the public highway (catabulum). At the end of nine months, he was set free by the Clergy; but a matron named Lucina, having had her house on the Via Lata consecrated by him as "titulus Marcelli", he was again condemned to the work of attending to the horses brought into the station, in which menial occupation he died.

All this is probably legendary, the reference to the restoration of Ecclesiastical activity by Marcellus alone having an historical basis. The tradition related in the verses of Damasus seems much more worthy of belief. The Feast of Saint Marcellus, whose name is to this day borne by the Church at Rome mentioned in the above legend, is still celebrated on 16 January. There still remains to be mentioned Mommsen's peculiar view that Marcellus was not really a Bishop, but a simple Roman Presbyter, to whom was committed the Ecclesiastical administration during the latter part of the period of vacancy of the Papal Chair. According to this view, 16 January was really the date of Marcellus' death, the next occupant of the Chair being Eusebius (Neues Archiv, 1896, XXI, 350–3). This hypothesis has, however, found no support.

The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Saint Marcellus. Pope and Martyr.

Feast Day 16 January.

Semi-Double.

Red Vestments.

As Supreme Head of the Church (Introit, Gradual) at the time of the last Persecutions of the Roman Emperors, Saint Marcellus bore witness to the Divinity of Christ "by losing his life for His sake" (Gospel).

The Holy Widow, Lucina, having offered him her house, he transformed it into a Church, now called Saint Marcellus's. Emperor Maxentius transferred there certain deer from the public stables and condemned the Holy Pope to keep them. His sufferings, tempered by Divine Consolation, made him feel all the more for the troubles of his flock (Epistle). Exhausted by ill-treatment, conquered by pain, he died in 309 A.D.

His heroic resistance, against which the Caesar's violence was broken, proves that Jesus is God, for "it is His powerful hand that succours His servant, and His arm which strengthens him so that the enemy shall not get the better of him" (Gradual).

The Divine Reign of the Saviour will indeed soon be acknowledged and with the Emperor Constantine, the Church of Rome, "Queen of Churches", as Saint Marcellus called her, will be Queen of the World, not only in the spiritual order, but also in the temporal.

Let us imitate the courage of the Holy Pontiff, Marcellus, in defending the Divine Rights of Christ in order that they may be manifested again by the triumph of the Church.

Introit: Státuit ei Dominus.

Saint Paul, The First Hermit. 15 January.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless otherwise stated.

Illustrations and Captions from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

Saint Paul, The First Hermit.

Feast Day 15 January.

Double.

White Vestments.

Saint Paul, The First Hermit (Anba Boula) (Ava Pavly), 

or Saint Paul the Anchorite, or Saint Paul of Thebes, (died circa 341 A.D.) 

is regarded as the first Christian Hermit. 

He is not to be confused with Paul The Simple, 

who was a disciple of Anthony the Great.

The icon of Anba Bola in the desert. The two lions are 

clearly shown, as they helped Saint Anthony 

to bury Saint Paul.

Date: 14 December 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Bola George.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Paul,  the father of Hermits, had Saint Jerome for his historian. Having become an orphan at the age of fifteen, he gave up his possessions and retired into a desert, where a flourishing palm-tree, a symbol of his virtues (Introit) provided him with food and clothing.

He meditated in solitude on the science of sciences, which is to know Jesus Christ (Epistle) and the Father, Whom Christ reveals to the humble (Gospel). He lived thus to the age of one hundred and twelve, enjoying in the heroic exercise of Prayer and Penance the sweetness of the Lord's yoke (ibid.).

The great Saint Anthony of the Desert visited him a little before his death and Saint Paul asked him, as a last favour, to allow him to sleep his last sleep in the cloak of Saint Athanasius, the invincible Defender of the Divinity of Christ.

He thereby affirmed that he died in the communion of this Saint and that his own long life of Penance had encouraged those who fought against the Arian Heresy. He died towards 342 A.D.

During this Season after Epiphany, consecrated to the Manifestation of the Divinity of Jesus, let us, with Saint Paul, The First Hermit, endeavour to convince ourselves that a Christian life consists in recognising Christ as the Son of God and in sanctifying ourselves by making His Divine Holiness our own (Epistle).

Introit: Justus ut palma.

Collect: Deus qui nos.

Commemoration: of Saint Maurus (Abbot): Collect: Intercéssio.

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Saint Paul The First Hermit (Anba Boula) (Ava Pavly) , commonly known as Saint Paul the First Hermit or Saint Paul the Anchorite or Saint Paul of Thebes (died circa 341 A.D.), is regarded as the first Christian Hermit. He is not to be confused with Paul the Simple, who was a disciple of Anthony the Great.

The Life of Saint Paul the First Hermit was composed in Latin by Saint Jerome, circa 375 A.D. The legend, according to Jerome's Vitae Patrum (Vita Pauli primi eremitae), is that, as a young man, Paul fled to the Theban desert during the persecution of Decius and Valerianus, around 250 A.D.

At that time, Paul and his married sister, both of whom lived in the Thebaid [Editor: Region of ancient Egypt], lost their parents. In order to obtain Paul's inheritance, his brother-in-law sought to betray him to the persecutors.

He lived in the mountains of this desert, in a cave near a clear spring and a palm tree, the leaves of which provided him with raiment, and the fruit of which provided him with his only source of food, until he was 43 years old, when a raven started bringing him half a loaf of bread daily. He would remain in that cave for the rest of his life, almost a hundred years.

Paul of Thebes is known to posterity because Anthony, around the year 342 A.D., was told in a dream about the older hermit's existence, and went to find him.

Familiar stories, from the "Life", include: The meeting of Saint Paul and Saint Anthony; the raven which brought them bread; Saint Anthony being sent to fetch the cloak, given him by "Athanasius the Bishop", to bury Saint Paul in; Saint Paul's death, before he returned; and the grave dug by lions.

Jerome further related the meeting of Anthony the Great and Paul, when the latter was aged one hundred and thirteen. They conversed with each other for one day and one night. The Synaxarium shows each Saint inviting the other to Bless and break the bread, as a token of honour. Saint Paul held one side, putting the other side into the hands of Father Anthony, and soon the bread broke through the middle and each took his part. When Anthony next visited him, Paul was dead. Anthony clothed him in a tunic, which was a present from Athanasius of Alexandria, and buried him, with two lions helping to dig the grave.

Father Anthony returned to his Monastery, taking with him the robe woven with palm leaf. He honoured the robe so much that he only wore it twice a year: At Easter and at Pentecost.

Saint Paul, The First Hermit's Feast Day is celebrated on 15 January, in the West, on 5 January or 15 January, in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and on 2 Meshir (9 February) in the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Saint Anthony described him as "the first Monk".

Saint Paul's Monastery (Deir Mar Boulos) is traditionally believed to be on the site of the cave where the Saint lived and where his remains are kept. The Monastery is located in the Eastern desert mountains of Egypt, near the Red Sea. The Cave Church of Saint Paul marks the spot where Saint Anthony, "the Father of Monasticism," and Saint Paul, "the First Hermit," are believed to have met.

He is also the Patron Saint of the Diocese of San Pablo (Philippines) and is the Titular of the Cathedral of the said Diocese in San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines.

The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit was founded in Hungary, in his honour, in the 13th-Century. He is usually represented with a palm tree, two lions and a raven.

Order of Saint Paul, The First Hermit.

Coat-of-Arms

of the Order of Saint Paul,

The First Hermit.

Abbreviation: O.S.P.P.E., Pauline Fathers

Motto: Solus Cum Deo Solo

Formation: 1250 A.D.

Type: Catholic religious order

Headquarters: Jasna Gora, Poland

Key people: Blessed Eusebius of Esztergom, 

Cardinal George Martinuzzi, 

Bishop Bartholomew of Pécs

Website: http://www.paulini.pl/

The Order of Saint Paul, the First Hermit (Latin: Ordo Fratrum Sancti Pauli Primi Eremitae, Croatian: Red svetog Pavla prvog pustinjaka – pavlini, Czech: Řád paulínů, German: Pauliner, Hungarian: Szent Pál első remete szerzeteseinek rendje, Polish: Paulini – Zakon Świętego Pawła Pierwszego Pustelnika, Slovak: Rád Svätého Pavla Prvého Pustovníka) is a Monastic Order of the Roman Catholic Church, founded in Hungary during the 13th-Century.

The title is derived from the Hermit, Saint Paul of Thebes (died circa 345 A.D.), Canonised in 491 A.D., by Pope Gelasius I. After his death, a Monastery, taking him as its model, was founded on Mount Sinai and still exists today.

O Jesu Mi Dulcissime ! O Jesu Mi Carissime ! O Amor Meus !

Taken from HOLY CARD HEAVEN

O JESU MI DULCISSIME !

O JESU MI CARISSIME !

O AMOR MEUS !

Oh, my sweetest Jesus!

Oh, Jesus, my dearest friend! 

Oh, my Love!

Saint Hilary Of Poitiers (300 A.D.-368 A.D.). "Hammer Of The Arians" (Latin: Malleus Arianorum) And "Athanasius Of The West". Bishop, Confessor And Doctor Of The Church. Feast Day 14 January.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Stained-Glass Window in the Choir of the Church of Saint Hilary of Boussais, 

Deux-Sèvres, France. It shows the entrance of Saint Hilary into Poitiers.

Français: Vitraux du chœur de l'église Saint-Hilaire de Boussais, 

Deux-Sèvres, France. Représentation 

de l'entrée de saint Hilaire à Poitiers.

Photo: 23 June 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Père Igor.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The Nave of the Church of Saint Hilary-the-Great, Poitiers, France.

Français: Nef de l'église Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand à Poitiers.

Photo: 12 June 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: GO69.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Hilary (Hilarius) of Poitiers (circa 300 A.D. – circa 368 A.D.) was Bishop of Poitiers and is a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" (Latin: Malleus Arianorum) and the "Athanasius of the West." His name, Hilary, comes from the Latin word for "happy" or "cheerful". His Feast Day is 14 January.

Hilary was born at Poitiers, either at the end of the 3rd-Century or the beginning of the 4th-Century A.D. His parents were pagans of distinction. He received a good education, including what had even then become somewhat rare in the West, some knowledge of Greek. He studied, later on, the Old and New Testament writings, with the result that he abandoned his Neo-Platonism for Christianity, and with his wife and his daughter (traditionally named Saint Abra), was Baptised and received into the Church.

The Christians of Poitiers so respected Hilary that, about 350 A.D. or 353 A.D., they unanimously elected him their Bishop. At that time, Arianism threatened to overrun the Western Church; Hilary undertook to repel the disruption. One of his first steps was to secure the excommunication, by those of the Gallican hierarchy who still remained orthodox Christians, of Saturninus, the Arian Bishop of Arles, and of Ursacius and Valens, two of his prominent supporters.

English: The Ordination of Saint Hilary of Poitiers.

From a 14th-Century Manuscript.

Français: Ordination de saint Hilaire.

Date: 14th century; Vie de saintes.

Source: http://saints.bestlatin.net/gallery/hilaire_bnfms.htm.

Author: Richard de Montbaston et collaborateurs.

(Wikimedia Commons)

About the same time, Hilary wrote to Emperor Constantius II a remonstrance against the persecutions by which the Arians had sought to crush their opponents (Ad Constantium Augustum liber primus, of which the most probable date is 355 A.D.). His efforts did not succeed at first, for at the Synod of Biterrae (Béziers), summoned by the Emperor in 356 A.D., with the professed purpose of settling the long-standing dispute, an Imperial "Rescript" banished the new Bishop, along with Rhodanus of Toulouse, to Phrygia.

Hilary spent nearly four years in exile, although the reasons for this banishment remain obscure. The traditional explanation is that Hilary was exiled for refusing to subscribe to the condemnation of Athanasius and the Nicene Creed. More recently, several scholars have suggested that political opposition to Constantius and support of the usurper, Silvanus, may have led to Hilary's downfall.

While in Phrygia, however, he continued to govern his Diocese, as well as writing two of the most important of his contributions to Dogmatic and Polemical Theology: the De synodis or De fide Orientalium, an epistle addressed in 358 A.D., to the Semi-Arian Bishops in Gaul, Germany and Britain, expounding the true views (sometimes veiled in ambiguous words) of the Eastern Bishops on the Nicene controversy; and the De trinitate libri XII, composed in 359 A.D. and 360 A.D., the first successful expression in Latin of that Council's theological subtleties originally elaborated in Greek. Although some members of Hilary's own party thought the first contribution had shown too great a forbearance towards the Arians, Hilary replied to their criticisms in the Apologetica ad reprehensores libri de synodis responsa.

Deutsch: Initial I und Miniatur des hl. Hilarius, ein totes Kind zum Leben erweckend; aus dem Weißenauer Passionale; Fondation Bodmer, Coligny, Switzerland; Cod. Bodmer 127, fol. 144r.

English: Illumination, showing Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, from the Passionary of Weissenau (Weißenauer Passionale); Fondation Bodmer, Coligny, Switzerland; Cod. Bodmer 127, fol. 144r.

Date: Between 1170 and 1200.

Source: http://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/cb/0127.

Author: either an unknown master or „Frater Rufillus“.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Hilary also attended several Synods during his time in exile, including the Council at Seleucia (359 A.D.), which saw the triumph of the "Homoion Party" and the forbidding of all discussion of the Divine Substance. In 360 A.D., Hilary tried unsuccessfully to secure a personal audience with Constantius, as well as to address the Council which met at Constantinople in 360 A.D.

When this Council ratified the decisions of Ariminum and Seleucia, Hilary responded with the bitter In Constantium, which attacked the Emperor Constantius as Anti-Christ and persecutor of orthodox Christians. Hilary's urgent and repeated requests for public debates with his opponents, especially with Ursacius and Valens, proved at last so inconvenient that he was sent back to his Diocese, which he appears to have reached about 361 A.D., within a very short time of the accession of Emperor Julian.

On returning to his diocese in 361 A.D., Hilary spent most of the first two or three years trying to persuade the local Clergy that the "Homoion" confession was merely a cover for traditional Arian sub-ordinationism. Thus, a number of Synods in Gaul condemned the Creed promulgated at the Council of Ariminium (359 A.D.).

In about 360 A.D., or 361 A.D., with Hilary's encouragement, Martin, the future Bishop of Tours, founded a Monastery at Ligugé in Hilary's Diocese.

English: The Saint Maixent School, Abbey Saint Maixent. Department of Deux-Sèvres, France. Stained-Glass Windows in the Choir, showing Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers.

Français: Vitrail consacré à cinq saints évêques liés à l' abbatiale, et un roi: St Saturnin premier saint patron, St Quabit (?), St Hilaire, St Léger qui fut abbé de Saint-Maixent, St Maxence alias St Maixent nom monastique d'Adjutor fondateur du monastère, St Agapit fondateur de la première communauté et Saint Louis protecteur de l' abbaye.

Source: Own work.

Author: Dvillafruela.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 364 A.D., Hilary extended his efforts once more beyond Gaul. He impeached Auxentius, Bishop of Milan, a man high in the Imperial favour, as heterodox. Emperor Valentinian I accordingly summoned Hilary to Milan to there maintain his charges. However, the supposed Heretic gave satisfactory answers to all the questions proposed. Hilary denounced Auxentius as a hypocrite as he himself was ignominiously expelled from Milan. Upon returning home, Hilary, in 365 A.D., published the Contra Arianos vel Auxentium Mediolanensem liber, describing his unsuccessful efforts against Auxentius. He also (but perhaps at a somewhat earlier date) published the Contra Constantium Augustum liber, accusing the lately-deceased Emperor as having been the Anti-Christ, a rebel against God, "a tyrant whose sole object had been to make a gift to the devil of that world for which Christ had suffered." According to Jerome, Saint Hilary died in Poitiers circa 368 A.D.

Recent research has distinguished between Hilary's thoughts before his period of exile in Phrygia under Constantius and the quality of his later major works. While Hilary closely followed the two great Alexandrians, Origen and Athanasius, in exegesis and Christology, respectively, his work shows many traces of vigorous independent thought.

Among Hilary's earliest writings, completed some time before his exile in 356 A.D., is his Commentarius in Evangelium Matthaei, an allegorical exegesis of the first Gospel. This is the first Latin Commentary on Matthew to have survived in its entirety. Hilary's "Commentary" was strongly influenced by Tertullian and Cyprian, and made use of several classical writers, including Cicero, Quintilian, Pliny and the Roman historians.

The Church of the former Abbey of Saint-Maixent , in the Commune 

of Saint-Maixent-School (Department of Deux-Sèvres), France. 

It contains Stained-Glass Windows showing 

Saint Hilary of Poitiers (see, above).

Photo: 31 January 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: MOSSOT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Nave of the Abbey of Saint-Maixent, France, 

which contains Stained-Glass Windows 

showing Saint Hilary of Poitiers (see, above).

Photo: 31 January 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: MOSSOT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Hilary's expositions of the Psalms, Tractatus super Psalmos, largely follow Origen, and were composed some time after Hilary returned from exile in 360 A.D. Since Jerome found the work incomplete, no-one knows whether Hilary originally commented on the whole Psalter. Now extant are the "Commentaries" on Psalms 1, 2, 9, 13, 14, 51-69, 91, and 118-150.

The third surviving exegetical writing by Hilary is the Tractatus mysteriorum, preserved in a single manuscript, first published in 1887.

Because Augustine cites part of the "Commentary on Romans" as, by "Sanctus Hilarius", it has been ascribed by various critics at different times to almost every known Hilary.

Hilary's major theological work was the twelve books, now known as De Trinitate. This was composed largely during his exile, though perhaps not completed until his return to Gaul in 360 A.D.

English: Illustration from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 

showing Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers.

Deutsch: Illustration aus der Schedel'schen Weltchronik, Blatt 131 recto.

Date: 1493.

Source: Scan from original book.

Author: Michel Wolgemut, Wilhelm Pleydenwurff (Text: Hartmann Schedel).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Another important work is De synodis, written early in 359 A.D., in preparation for the Councils of Ariminium and Seleucia.

Various writings comprise Hilary's 'historical' works. These include the Liber II ad Constantium imperatorem, the Liber in Constantium inperatorem, Contra Arianos vel Auxentium Mediolanensem liber, and the various documents relating to the Arian controversy in Fragmenta historica.

Some consider Hilary as the first Latin Christian Hymn-Writer, because Jerome said Hilary produced a liber hymnorum. Three Hymns are attributed to him, though none are indisputable.

Hilary is the pre-eminent Latin writer of the 4th-Century (before Ambrose). Augustine of Hippo called him "the illustrious Doctor of the Churches", and his works continued to be highly influential in later Centuries. Venantius Fortunatus wrote a Vita of Hilary, by 550 A.D., but few now consider it reliable. More trustworthy are the notices in Saint Jerome (De vir. illus. 100), Sulpicius Severus (Chron. ii. 39-45) and in Hilary's own writings. Pope Pius IX formally recognised him as Universae Ecclesiae Doctor in 1851.

English: Pussemange (Belgium). Church of Saint Hilary (1872-1874).

Français: Pussemange (Belgique), l’église Saint-Hilaire (1872-1874).

Deutsch: Pussemange (Belgien), die Sint-Hilarius kirche (1872-1874).

Walon: Pûsmadje (Bèljike), l’églîje Sint-Ilaîre (1872-1874).

Photo: 14 July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

For English educational and legal institutions, Saint Hilary's Festival lies at the start of the Hilary Term, which begins in January. The name Hilary Term is given in Oxford University to the Term, beginning on 7 January, that includes his Feast. Some consider Saint Hilary of Poitiers as the Patron Saint of Lawyers. From his writing, Saint Hilary's symbol came to be three books and a quill pen.

Sulpicius Severus' Vita Sancti Martini led to a cult of Saint Hilary, as well as of Saint Martin of Tours, which spread early to Western Britain. The villages of St Hilary, in Cornwall, and Glamorgan, and that of Llanilar, in Ceredigion, bear his name.

English: Interior of Sant'Ilario di Poitiers, France.

Italiano: L'autore io, chiesa di s.ilario, bedero valcuvia, libero uso.

Date: 12 January 2010 (original upload date).

Source: Transferred from it.wikipedia; transferred to Commons 

by User:Cruccone using CommonsHelper.

Author: Original uploader was Davide9191 at it.wikipedia.

Permission: Released into the public domain (by the author).

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The 15th-Century and 16th-Century 

Parish Church of Saint Hilary, 

Clohars-Fouesnant, Brittany, France.

Français: Clohars-Fouesnant : l'église 

paroissiale Saint-Hilaire (XVe et XVIe siècles).

Photo: 9 August 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Moreau.henri.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In France, most dedications to Saint Hilary are West (and North) of the Massif Central, and the cult in this region eventually extended to Canada.

In North-West Italy, the Church of Sant’Ilario, at Casale Monferrato, was dedicated to Saint Hilary, as early as 380 A.D.

The Church of Saint Hilary-the-Great, 

Poitiers, France.

This File: 12 April 2008.

User: MainMa.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Saint Hilary.

Bishop and Doctor.

Feast Day 14 January.

Double.

White Vestments.

After having persecuted the Church during the first Centuries, the Christian, but at the same time Heretical, Emperors continued their attacks by supporting Arianism, which denied the Divinity of Christ.

In the Season after Epiphany, when Jesus affirms His Divinity by His teaching and miracles, the first Saint whom the Church presents to us is one of the most intrepid defenders of this fundamental Dogma of Christianity.

Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, France, in 352 A.D., (Communion) endowed with great natural and supernatural talent, for "the Lord has filled him with the spirit of Wisdom and Intelligence" (Introit), fought with his pen and his eloquence against those "who closed their ears to Truth and opened them to fables" (Epistle).

English: Shrine, containing the Relics of Saint Hilary,

in the Crypt of the Church of 

Saint Hilary-the-Great,

Poitiers, France.

Deutsch: Saint-Hilaire-de-Poitiers, Reliqienschrein in der Krypta

Photo: August 2008.

Source: Self-photographed (Original text: “selbst fotografiert”).

Transferred from de.wikipedia to Commons by 

User:Brackenheim using CommonsHelper.

Author: KBWEi at de.wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

This "Salt of the Earth", this Light of God's House, would not suffer, under the false excuse of favouring peace and unity, the Salt of True Doctrine to be corrupted or the Light of Truth to be hidden under a bushel.

"Having thus taught the practice of the Commandments, even to the last tittle, he is great in the Kingdom of Heaven" (Gospel), and the Church, which is the Earthly portion of this Kingdom, has, by the voice of Pope Pius IX, awarded him the Title of Doctor (Collect). He died in 368 A.D.

Let us have recourse to the intercession of Saint Hilary, in order always to be the intrepid defenders of the Divinity of Christ.

Mass: In Médio.

Commemoration: Saint Felix (Priest and Martyr), same day.

The Octave Of The Epiphany. 13 January.

Text taken from The Liturgical Year,
by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.
Volume 3.
Christmas - Book II.

The Baptism of Christ.

Date: 1600s.

Source: http://www.oceansbridge.com/oil-paintings/

product/73240/baptismofchrist.

Author: Francesco Albani (1578–1660).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Francesco Albani's 

17th-Century Baptism of Christ 

is a typical depiction with the sky opening 

and the Holy Spirit descending as a dove.

The thoughts of the Church, today, are fixed on the Baptism of Our Lord in the Jordan, which is the second of the three Mysteries of the Epiphany. The Emmanuel manifested Himself to the Magi, after having shown Himself to the Shepherds; but this manifestation was made within the narrow space of a stable at Bethlehem, and the world knew nothing of it.

In the Mystery of the Jordan, Christ manifested Himself with greater publicity. His coming is proclaimed by the Precursor; the crowd that is flocking to the river for Baptism is witness of what happens; Jesus makes this the beginning of His public life. But who could worthily explain the glorious circumstances of this second Epiphany ?

It resembles the first in this, that it is for the benefit and salvation of the human race. The Star has led the Magi to Christ; they had long waited for His coming, they had hoped for it; now they believe. Faith in the Messias having come into the world is beginning to take root among the Gentiles. But faith is not sufficient for salvation; the stain of sin must be washed away by water. He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved.

The time is come, then, for a new manifestation of the Son of God, whereby there shall be inaugurated the great remedy, which is to give to Faith the power of producing life eternal.

English: Jesus (left) is being identified by John the Baptist (in John 1:29).

Italiano: Ottavio vannini, san giovanni che indica il Cristo a Sant'Andrea.

Artist: Vannini.

Date: 17th-Century.

Source: Giovanni Piccirillo (a cura di), La chiesa dei 

Santi Michele e Gaetano, Becocci Editore, Firenze 2006.

Author: sailko.

Permission: pd-old.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Now the decrees of Divine Wisdom had chosen Water as the instrument of this sublime regeneration of the human race. Hence, in the beginning of the world, we find the Spirit of God moving over the Waters, in order that they might "even then conceive a principle of sanctifying power," as the Church expresses it in her Office for Holy Saturday [the Blessing of the Font].

But, before being called to fulfil the designs of God's mercy, this element of Water had to be used by the Divine Justice for the chastisement of a sinful world. With the exception of one family, the whole human race perished, by the terrible judgement of God, in the Waters of the Deluge.

A fresh indication of the future supernatural power of this chosen element was given by the Dove, which Noe sent forth from the Ark; it returned to him, bearing in its beak an Olive-branch, the symbol that peace was given to the Earth by its having been buried in Water. But this was only the announcement of the Mystery; its accomplishment was not to be for long ages to come.

Meanwhile, God spoke to His people by many events, which were figurative of the future Mystery of Baptism. Thus, for example, it was by passing through the waters of the Red Sea that they entered into the Promised Land, and, during the miraculous passage, a pillar of a cloud was seen covering both the Israelites and the Waters to which they owed their deliverance.

The Baptism of Christ, 

by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Stained-Glass window

at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church,

Baltimore, United States.

Date: July, 2007(28 September 2007 (original upload date)).

Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia.

(Original text : User:JGHowes).

Author: User:JGHowes, photographer. Original uploader was JGHowes at en.wikipedia.

Attribution: (Original text : © by James G. Howes, July 26, 2007).

(Copyright holder must be properly attributed).

(Wikimedia Commons)

But, in order that Water should have the power to purify man from his sins, it was necessary that it should be brought in contact with the Sacred Body of the Incarnate God. The Eternal Father had sent His Son into the world, not only that He might be its Lawgiver and Redeemer, and the Victim of its salvation, but that He might also be the Sanctifier of Water; and it was in this sacred element that He would divinely bear testimony to His being His Son, and manifest Him to the world a second time.

Jesus, therefore, being now thirty years of age, comes to the Jordan, a river already celebrated for the prophetic miracles which had been wrought in its waters. The Jewish people, roused by the preaching of John the Baptist, were flocking thither in order to receive a Baptism which could indeed excite a sorrow for sin, but could not effect its forgiveness. Our Divine King approaches the river, not, of course, to receive sanctification, for He, Himself, is the author of all Justice — but to impart to Water the power of bringing forth, as the Church expresses the Mystery, a new and Heavenly progeny [The Blessing of the Font].

He goes down into the stream, not, like Josue, to walk dry-shod through its bed, but to let its waters encompass Him, and receive from Him, both for itself and for the Waters of the whole Earth, the sanctifying power which they would retain for ever.

The Saintly Baptist places his trembling hand upon the sacred Head of the Redeemer, and bends it beneath the water; the Sun of Justice vivifies this His creature; He imparts to it the glow of life-giving fruitfulness; and Water thus becomes the prolific source of supernatural life.

The Adoration of the Magi.

Artist: Abraham Bloemaert (1566 - 1651).

Date: 1624.

Current location: Centraal Museum,

Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Source/Photographer: NwF4IhKB6EBxaA at 

Google Cultural Institute.

(Wikimedia Commons)

But in this, the commencement of a new Creation, we look for the intervention of the Three Persons of The Blessed Trinity. All Three are there. The heavens open; the Dove descends, not as a mere symbol, prophetic of some future Grace, but as the sign of the actual presence of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Love, who gives peace to men and changes their hearts.

The Dove hovers above the Head of Jesus, overshadowing at one and the same time the Humanity of the Incarnate Word and the water which bathed His Sacred Body.

The manifestation is not complete; the Father's voice is still to be heard speaking over the Water, and moving by its power the entire element throughout the Earth. Then was fulfilled the Prophecy of David: The Voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of Majesty hath thundered. The Voice of the Lord breaketh Cedars, that is, the pride of the devils. The Voice of the Lord divideth the flame of fire, that is, the anger of God. The Voice of the Lord shaketh the desert, and maketh the flood to swell, that is, announces a new Deluge, the Deluge of Divine Mercy [Ps. cxxviii 3, 5, 7, 8, 10]. And what says this Voice of the Father ? This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased.

Thus was the Holiness  of Emmanuel manifested by the presence of the Dove and by the Voice of the Father, as His Kingly character had been previously manifested  by the mute testimony of the Star. The Mystery is accomplished, the Waters are invested with a spiritual purifying power, and Jesus comes from the Jordan and ascends the bank, raising up with Himself the world, regenerated and sanctified, with all its crimes and defilements drowned in the stream. Such is the interpretation and language of the Holy Fathers of the Church regarding this great event of Our Lord's Life.

The Adoration of the Magi.

Artist: Charles André van Loo.

Date: 1760.

Current location: Los Angeles County Museum of Art,

United States of America.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates this wonderful Mystery of Jesus' Baptism; and we cannot be surprised at the Eastern Church having selected this day for one of the Solemn administrations of the Sacrament of Baptism. The same custom was observed, as we learn from ancient documents, in certain Churches in the West. John Mosch tells us that, as regards the Oriental Church, the Font was more than once miraculously filled with water on the Feast of the Epiphany, and that immediately after having administered the Sacrament, the people saw the water disappear.

The Roman Church, even so early as the time of Saint Leo, decreed that Easter and Pentecost should be the only two days for the Solemn administration of Baptism; but the custom of Blessing the Baptismal Water with great Solemnity on the Epiphany was still retained, and is observed even now in some parts of the West.

The Eastern Church has always religiously observed it. Amidst all the pomp of Sacred Rites, accompanied by his Priests and Ministers, who are clothed in the richest Vestments, and followed by the whole people, the Bishop repairs to the banks of a river. After reciting certain beautiful Prayers, which we regret not being able to offer to our Readers, the Bishop plunges into the water a Cross richly adorned with precious stones; it represents Our Lord being Baptised by Saint John the Baptist.

At Saint Petersburg, the ceremony takes place on the River Niva, and it is through a hole made on the ice that the Metropolitan dips the Cross into the water. This same ceremony is observed by those Churches in the West which have retained the custom of Blessing the Baptismal Water on this Feast.

The Adoration of the Magi.

Tapestry, wool and silk on cotton warp.

Manchester Metropolitan University,

Manchester, England.

Designed 1888. Woven 1894.

Scanned from Stephen Wildman, Edward Burne-Jones:

Victorian Artist-Dreamer, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998,

ISBN 0870998595.

Designed by Edward Burne Jones,

with details by William Morris and John Henry Dearle.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Faithful are very anxious to carry home with them the water of the stream thus sanctified; and Saint John Chrysostom, in his twenty-fourth Homily, on the Baptism of Christ, speaks to his audience of the circumstance, which was well known by all of them, of this water never turning corrupt. The same has been often seen in the Western Church.

Let us honour Our Lord in this second Manifestation of His Divinity, and thank Him, with the Church, for having given us both the Star of Faith which enlightens us, and the Water of Baptism which cleanses us from our iniquities.

Let us lovingly appreciate the humility of Our Jesus, who permits Himself to be weighed down by the hand of a mortal man, in order, as He says Himself, that He might fulfil all justice, for having taken on Himself the likeness of sin, it was requisite that He should bear its humiliation, that so He might raise us from our debasement.

Let us thank Him for this Grace of Baptism, which has opened to us the Gates of the Church, both of Heaven and Earth; and let us renew the engagements we made at the Holy Font, for they were the terms on which we were regenerated to our New Life in God.

The Adoration of the Magi.

Artist: Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640).

Date: 1609 / 1628 - 1629.

Current location: Paseo del Prado, Madrid, Spain.

Source/Photographer: http://www.museodelprado.es/

imagen/alta_resolucion/P01638.jpg.

(Wikimedia Commons)

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON THE EPIPHANY.