Pope Hilarius
Encyclopedia
Pope Saint Hilarius was Pope
of the Roman Catholic Church
from 461 to February 28, 468. He was canonized
as a saint after his death.
The Sardinia
n archdeacon
of Rome
, Hilarius was elected bishop of Rome probably November 17, 461, and was consecrated November 19, 461, and died on February 28 (?), 468.
As archdeacon under Pope Leo I
he fought vigorously for the rights of the Roman See and vigorously opposed the condemnation of Flavian of Constantinople at the Second Council of Ephesus
in 449 to settle the question of Eutyches
. According to a letter to the Empress Pulcheria
, collected among the letter of Leo I, Hilarius apologizes 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.
As pope, he continued the policy of his predecessor Leo who, in his contest with Hilary of Arles
, had obtained from Valentinian III
a famous rescript (445) confirming the supremacy of the bishop of Rome. Hilarius continued to strengthen papal control over episcopal discipline. At Narbonne
, Hermes, a former archdeacon, had been nominated by his predecessor and installed as bishop without the express sanction of Pope Leo. Hilarius convoked a synod in 462, which confirmed Hermes as titular bishop, withholding his faculties as metropolitan (Wace). 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
, 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 Leontius, Bishop 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 examined into the cause of sale.
Shortly after this the pope found himself involved in another diocesan quarrel. In 463, Mamertus of Vienne had consecrated a bishop of Die, although this Church, by a decree of Leo I, belonged to the metropolitan Diocese of Arles. When Hilarius heard of it, he deputed Leontius of Arles to summon a great synod of the bishops of several provinces to investigate the matter. The synod took place and, on the strength of the report given him by Bishop Antonius, he issued an edict dated February 25, 464, in which Bishop Veranus was commissioned to warn Mamertus that, if in the future he did not refrain from irregular ordinations, his faculties would be withdrawn. Consequently the consecration of the Bishop of Die must be sanctioned by Leontius of Arles. Thus the primatial privileges of the See of Arles were upheld as Leo I had defined them. At the same time the bishops were admonished not to overstep their boundaries, and to assemble in a yearly synod presided over by the Bishop of Arles. The metropolitan rights of the See of Embrun also 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
and Cimiez
.
He gave decisions to the churches of Hispania
, which tended to operate outside the papal orbit in the 5th century. Silvanus, Bishop 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 November 19, 465, held in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, which settled the matters, is the oldest Roman synod whose original records have survived.
In Rome Hilarius worked zealously to counter the new emperor's edict of toleration for schismatic sects (467), 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, 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.
Hilarius erected several churches and other buildings in Rome, for which the Liber Pontificalis
, the main source for information about Hilarius, praises him. Two oratories in the baptistery of the Lateran, one in honour of St. John the Baptist, the other of St. John the Apostle, to whom he attributed his safe escape from the Council of Ephesus, are due to him, thus satisfying the question as to which Saints John the Lateran had been dedicated. 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, in which church he was buried. His feast day is celebrated on November 17 or February 28.
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
from 461 to February 28, 468. He was canonized
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
as a saint after his death.
The Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
n archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Hilarius was elected bishop of Rome probably November 17, 461, and was consecrated November 19, 461, and died on February 28 (?), 468.
As archdeacon under Pope Leo I
Pope Leo I
Pope Leo I was pope from September 29, 440 to his death.He was an Italian aristocrat, and is the first pope of the Catholic Church to have been called "the Great". He is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452, persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Italy...
he fought vigorously for the rights of the Roman See and vigorously opposed the condemnation of Flavian of Constantinople at the Second Council of Ephesus
Second Council of Ephesus
The Second Council of Ephesus was a church synod in 449 AD. It was convoked by Emperor Theodosius II as an ecumenical council but because of the controversial proceedings it was not accepted as ecumenical, labelled a Robber Synod and later repudiated at the Council of Chalcedon.-The first...
in 449 to settle the question of Eutyches
Eutyches
Eutyches was a presbyter and archimandrite at Constantinople. He first came to notice in 431 at the First Council of Ephesus, for his vehement opposition to the teachings of Nestorius; his condemnation of Nestorianism as heresy precipitated his being denounced as a heretic...
. According to a letter to the Empress Pulcheria
Pulcheria
Aelia Pulcheria was the daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius and Empress Aelia Eudoxia. She was the second child born to Arcadius and Eudoxia. Her oldest sister was Flaccilla born in 397, but is assumed she had died young. Her younger siblings were Theodosius II, the future emperor and...
, collected among the letter of Leo I, Hilarius apologizes 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.
As pope, he continued the policy of his predecessor Leo who, in his contest with Hilary of Arles
Hilary of Arles
Saint Hilary of Arles was a bishop of Arles. He is recognized as a saint by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, with his feast day celebrated on 5 May.- Life :...
, had obtained from Valentinian III
Valentinian III
-Family:Valentinian was born in the western capital of Ravenna, the only son of Galla Placidia and Flavius Constantius. The former was the younger half-sister of the western emperor Honorius, and the latter was at the time Patrician and the power behind the throne....
a famous rescript (445) confirming the supremacy of the bishop of Rome. Hilarius continued to strengthen papal control over episcopal discipline. At Narbonne
Narbonne
Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Hermes, a former archdeacon, had been nominated by his predecessor and installed as bishop without the express sanction of Pope Leo. Hilarius convoked a synod in 462, which confirmed Hermes as titular bishop, withholding his faculties as metropolitan (Wace). Other decisions expressed in an encyclical
Encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...
were in the interests of increased discipline. A synod was to be convened yearly by the Bishop of Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
, 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 Leontius, Bishop 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 examined into the cause of sale.
Shortly after this the pope found himself involved in another diocesan quarrel. In 463, Mamertus of Vienne had consecrated a bishop of Die, although this Church, by a decree of Leo I, belonged to the metropolitan Diocese of Arles. When Hilarius heard of it, he deputed Leontius of Arles to summon a great synod of the bishops of several provinces to investigate the matter. The synod took place and, on the strength of the report given him by Bishop Antonius, he issued an edict dated February 25, 464, in which Bishop Veranus was commissioned to warn Mamertus that, if in the future he did not refrain from irregular ordinations, his faculties would be withdrawn. Consequently the consecration of the Bishop of Die must be sanctioned by Leontius of Arles. Thus the primatial privileges of the See of Arles were upheld as Leo I had defined them. At the same time the bishops were admonished not to overstep their boundaries, and to assemble in a yearly synod presided over by the Bishop of Arles. The metropolitan rights of the See of Embrun also over the dioceses of the Maritime Alps were protected against the encroachments of a certain Bishop Auxanius
Auxanius
Auxanius was Bishop of Arles c. 543-c. 546. He was succeeded by Bishop Aurelian of Arles. Auxanius received two letters from Pope Vigilius. He is otherwise unknown.-References:...
, particularly in connection with the two Churches of Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
and Cimiez
Cimiez
Cimiez is a 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...
.
He gave decisions to the churches of Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
, which tended to operate outside the papal orbit in the 5th century. Silvanus, Bishop 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 November 19, 465, held in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, which settled the matters, is the oldest Roman synod whose original records have survived.
In Rome Hilarius worked zealously to counter the new emperor's edict of toleration for schismatic sects (467), inspired, according to a letter of Pope Gelasius I
Pope Gelasius I
Pope Saint Gelasius I was pope from 492 until his death in 496. He was the third and last bishop of Rome of African origin in the Catholic Church. Gelasius was a prolific writer whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages...
by a favourite
Favourite
A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
of Emperor Anthemius named Philotheus, who espoused the Macedonian heresy. On one of the emperor's visits to St Peter's, 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.
Hilarius erected several churches and other buildings in Rome, for which the Liber Pontificalis
Liber Pontificalis
The Liber Pontificalis is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the Liber Pontificalis stopped with Pope Adrian II or Pope Stephen V , but it was later supplemented in a different style until Pope Eugene IV and then Pope Pius II...
, the main source for information about Hilarius, praises him. Two oratories in the baptistery of the Lateran, one in honour of St. John the Baptist, the other of St. John the Apostle, to whom he attributed his safe escape from the Council of Ephesus, are due to him, thus satisfying the question as to which Saints John the Lateran had been dedicated. 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, in which church he was buried. His feast day is celebrated on November 17 or February 28.