Saint Hilary of Galeata (Italian: ''Sant'Ilaro'' or ''Sant'Ellero''; 476 – 15 May 558) is venerated as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

in the

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and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

churches. His feast day is 15 May.Ὁ Ὅσιος Ἱλάριος
ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. According to tradition, he was born in

Tuscia Tuscia is a historical region of Italy that comprised the territories under Etruscan influence and the name adopted for Etruria after the Roman conquest. While it later came to coincide with today's province of Viterbo, it was originally much lar ...

in 476, and he decided to dedicate himself to the life of a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

at the age of twelve. He left his home, and traveled across the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

towards

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and chose a spot, according to tradition, pointed out to him by an

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

, on a mountain in the valley of the Bidente near the Ronco River. According to tradition, at the age of twenty, he freed a local nobleman, Olibrius, from a demon. In gratitude, Olibrius had his entire family christened by Hilary, and donated to the saint lands and money. In addition, two of Olibrius’ sons joined Hilary in the religious life. Around 496, then, this became the nucleus of the monastery of Galeata, later called Sant'Ellero di Galeata. The foundation attracted new recruits, and the monastery followed a version of the rule of

Saint Pachomius Pachomius (; el, Παχώμιος ''Pakhomios''; ; c. 292 – 9 May 348 AD), also known as Saint Pachomius the Great, is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. Coptic churches celebrate his feast day on 9 May, ...

. Numerous miracles are attributed to Hilary. Hilary transformed a grape into a serpent in order to teach a lazy monk named Glicerio a lesson. Hilary also managed to impress

Theodoric Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name ...

, who had originally been harassing the monks and who had been building a palace near Galeata, into donating land and goods.

Veneration

The author of Hilary’s ''Vita'' claims that he is a disciple and eyewitness to the events of the saint’s life. Scholars have declared it to be written contemporaneously with the life of Hilary. However, as Giovanni Lucchesi has remarked, the ''Vita''’s author followed the normal standards for writing hagiographies in the

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, which called for the incorporation of miracles, the active participation of angels and demons, and the addition of long, devout speeches and prayers in the text. In addition, Lucchesi points out that the story of Olibrius’ liberation from

demonic possession Spirit possession is an unusual or altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and reli ...

is a

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found in another hagiographies of the time (such as those associated with Saints Apollonia, Gordian,

Cyriacus Cyriacus ( el, Ἅγιος Κυριακός, fl. 303 AD), sometimes Anglicized as Cyriac, according to Christian tradition, is a Christian martyr who was killed in the Diocletianic Persecution. He is one of twenty-seven saints, most of them marty ...

, Epiphanius, Potitus, Abercius,

Vitus Vitus is a Latin given name meaning lively and may refer to: *Saint Vitus (c. 290 – c. 303), a Christian martyr *Vitus of Hungary (died 1297), beatified friar *Vitus (bicycles), a French bicycle manufacturer * ''Vitus'' (film), a 2006 Swiss film ...

, etc.). Hilary’s following was diffused across

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and

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...

, especially in the dioceses of

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

Sarsina Sarsina ( rgn, Sêrsna) is an Italian town situated in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Its territory is included in the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines. History Ancient Sarsina or Sassina was a town of the Umbri. Capt ...

Forlì Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Forum Livii) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna. The city is situated along the Via E ...

, Bertinoro,

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Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Sin ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and at the abbey of Farfa. Sant'Ellero di Galeata subsequently became a

Camaldolese The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona ( la, Congregatio Eremitarum Camaldulensium Montis Coronae), commonly called Camaldolese is a monastic order of Pontifical Right for men founded by Saint Romuald. Their name is derived from the Holy Hermita ...

monastery.

References

External links

Hilary of GaleataSant' Ellero (Ilaro) di Galeata
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilary Of Galeata 476 births 558 deaths 6th-century Christian saints Medieval Italian saints Italian hermits