HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Pope Hilarius (or Hilary) was the
bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop i ...
from 19 November 461 to his death on 29 February 468. In 449, Hilarius served as a legate for Pope Leo I at the Second Council of Ephesus. His opposition to the condemnation of Flavian of Constantinople incurred the enmity of
Dioscurus of Alexandria Dioscorus I (), also known as Dioscorus the Great, was the pope of Alexandria and patriarch of the See of St. Mark who was deposed by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. He was recognized as patriarch by the Coptic Church until his death. He died ...
, who attempted to prevent him from leaving the city. Hilarius was able to make his escape and returned to Rome by an indirect route. He later erected an oratory at the Lateran in honor of
John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...
, to whom he attributed his safe passage. Much of his pontificate was spent in maintaining ecclesiastical discipline in conformity with canon law, and in settling jurisdictional disputes among the bishops of both Gaul and Spain.


Early career

Hilarius was born in
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...
. As archdeacon under Pope Leo I, he fought vigorously for the rights of the Roman See. In 449, Hilarius and Bishop Julius of Puteoli served as
papal legates 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
to the Second Council of Ephesus. Pope Leo had sent a letter with the legates to be read at the council. However, the head notary declared that the emperor's letter should be read first and as the Council proceeded, Leo's letter ended up not being read at all. Hilarius vigorously opposed the condemnation of Flavian of Constantinople, pronouncing the single word in Latin, "Contradicitur", annulling the sentence in Leo's name.Chapman, John. "Dioscurus." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 31 March 2019
For this he incurred the displeasure of
Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria Dioscorus I (), also known as Dioscorus the Great, was the pope of Alexandria and patriarch of the See of St. Mark who was deposed by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. He was recognized as patriarch by the Coptic Church until his death. He die ...
, who presided over the synod. Flavian died shortly afterwards, on 11 August 449, from injuries incurred from a physical assault by the followers of Dioscurus. According to a letter to Empress Pulcheria collected among the letters of Leo I, Hilarius apologized for not delivering to her the pope's letter after the synod, but owing to Dioscurus of Alexandria, who tried to hinder his going either to Rome or to Constantinople, he had great difficulty in making his escape in order to bring to the pontiff the news of the result of the council. Flavian and Eusebius of Dorylaeum appealed to the pope, and their letters were probably taken by Hilarus to Rome.


Papacy

As pope, he continued the policy of his predecessor, Leo I, who, in his contest with Hilary of Arles, had obtained from Emperor
Valentinian III Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...
a famous rescript of 444 (called ''Novel 17)'' confirming the supremacy of the
bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop i ...
. Hilarius continued to strengthen ecclesiastical government in Gaul and Spain. In Rome, Hilarius worked zealously to counter the new emperor's 467 edict of toleration for schismatic sects, which had been inspired, according to a letter of Pope Gelasius I, by a favourite of Emperor Anthemius named Philotheus, who espoused the Macedonian heresy. On one of the emperor's visits to St Peter's Basilica, the pope openly called him to account for his favourite's conduct, exhorting him by the grave of St Peter to promise that he would allow no schismatical assemblies in Rome.


Ecclesiastical disputes

Hermes, a former archdeacon of Narbonne, had illegally acquired the bishopric of that town. Two Gallican prelates were dispatched to Rome to lay before the pope this and other matters concerning the Church in Gaul. A Roman synod held on 19 November, 462, passed judgment upon these matters. Hilarius sent an Encyclical advising the provincial bishops of Vienne, Lyons, Narbonne, and the Alps that Hermes was to remain titular bishop of Narbonne, but his episcopal faculties were withheld. Other decisions expressed in an encyclical were in the interests of increased discipline. A synod was to be convened yearly by the bishop of
Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label=Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province ...
, but all important matters were to be submitted to the Apostolic See. No bishop could leave his diocese without a written permission from his metropolitan, with a right of appeal to the Bishop of Arles. Respecting the parishes (''paroeciae'') claimed by Bishop Leontius of Arles as belonging to his jurisdiction, the Gallican bishops could decide, after an investigation. Church property could not be alienated until a synod had looked into the purpose of the sale. Shortly after this, the pope found himself involved in another diocesan quarrel. In 463,
Mamertus of Vienne Mamertus (died c. 475) was the bishop of Vienne in Gaul, venerated as a saint. His primary contribution to ecclesiastical practice was the introduction of litanies prior to Ascension Day as an intercession against earthquakes and other disasters, ...
had consecrated a
bishop of Die The former French Catholic diocese of Die existed from the fourth to the thirteenth century, and then again from 1678 to the French Revolution. It was suppressed by the Concordat of 1801, its territory being assigned to the diocese of Grenoble. I ...
, although this Church, by a decree of Leo I, belonged to the metropolitan
Diocese of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal see in the city of Arles, in southern France.See of Embrun The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Embrun was located in southeastern France, in the mountains of the Maritime Alps, on a route that led from Gap by way of Briançon to Turin. It had as suffragans the Diocese of Digne, Diocese of Antibes and Gras ...
over the dioceses of the Maritime Alps were protected against the encroachments of a certain Bishop Auxanius, particularly in connection with the two Churches of
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
and
Cimiez Cimiez (; Italian: ''Cimella'') is an upper class neighborhood in Nice, Southern France. The area contains the Musée Matisse and the ruins of ''Cemenelum'', capital of the Ancient Roman province Alpes Maritimae on the Ligurian coast. ''Cemenel ...
. Hilarius gave decisions to the churches of
Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: His ...
, which tended to operate outside the papal orbit in the 5th century. Bishop Silvanus of Calahorra had violated the church laws by his episcopal ordinations, and the pope was asked for his decision. Before an answer came to their petition, the same bishops had recourse to the Holy See for an entirely different matter. Before his death, Nundinarius, Bishop of Barcelona, expressed a wish that Irenaeus might be chosen his successor, and he himself had made Irenaeus bishop of another See. The request was granted and the Synod of Tarragona confirmed the nomination of Irenaeus, after which the bishops sought the pope's approval. The Roman synod of 19 November 465, held in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, which decided that Irenaeus, the nominated bishop, should quit the see of Barcelona and return to his former one, while the Spanish bishops were directed to condone the acts of Silvanus. This is the oldest Roman synod whose original records have survived.


Construction projects

Hilarius erected several churches and other buildings in Rome, for which the '' Liber Pontificalis,'' the main source for information about Hilarius, praises him. He also erected a chapel of the Holy Cross in the baptistery, convents, two public baths, and libraries near the
Basilica of St. Lawrence outside the Walls The Basilica Papale di San Lorenzo fuori le mura (Papal Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls) is a Roman Catholic Minor papal basilica and parish church, located in Rome, Italy. The Basilica is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome ...
. He built two
oratories Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...
in the baptistery of the Lateran, one in honor of
John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
, the other of John the Apostle, to whom he attributed his safe escape from the Council of Ephesus, thus satisfying the question as to which saints the Lateran had been dedicated.


Death

Hilarius died on 29 February 468 and was buried in Basilica of St. Lawrence outside the Walls. His feast day is celebrated on 17 November.


See also

*
Hilary of Poitiers Hilary of Poitiers ( la, Hilarius Pictaviensis; ) was Bishop of Poitiers and a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" () and the " Athanasius of the West". His name comes from the Latin word for happy ...
* List of Catholic saints *
List of popes This chronological list of popes corresponds to that given in the ''Annuario Pontificio'' under the heading "I Sommi Pontefici Romani" (The Roman Supreme Pontiffs), excluding those that are explicitly indicated as antipopes. Published every ye ...
* Pope Saint Hilarius, patron saint archive


References


Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hilarius, Pope 468 deaths 5th-century archbishops 5th-century Christian saints 5th-century Romans Burials at San Lorenzo fuori le mura Sardinian Roman Catholic priests Italian popes Saints from Roman Italy Papal names Papal saints People from Sardinia Popes Year of birth unknown 5th-century popes