St. Hilary of Poiters
Feast day: January 13
Hilary was raised as a pagan but converted to Christianity. He was elected bishop of Limonum (modern Poitiers) around 353, and shortly afterward, he emerged as the main defender of orthodoxy in the West against the Arians. Condemned for his stand by the Council of Biterrae in 356, he was exiled to Phrygia for four years by Emperor Constantius II. Upon Hilary’s return to Poitiers, he had Arian Bishop Saturninus, who had been responsible for his exile, deposed. Hilary, often referred to as “the Athanasius of the West,” was well known for his oratorical skills and extensive writings. He died in 368 and was named a Doctor of the Church in 1851.
Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that we may rightly understand and truthfully profess
the divinity of your Son,
which the Bishop Saint Hilary taught with such constancy.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
