Today is the feast of St. Hilarion, who was born at Gaza in the Roman province of Palestine at the end of the 3rd century, and died around 371 AD on the island of Cyprus. St. Hilarion was one of the earliest prominent monks, and although he did not formally rule over a religious community, the Church honors him with the title “abbot” for inspiring many others to take up the monastic life. In his pursuit of peace and solitude, he moved from place to place—starting from his native Gaza, then to Egypt, Sicily, Dalmatia, and finally to Cyprus. His fame as a miracle-worker caused many to seek him out, disrupting his solitude.
St. Epiphanius, the bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, knew St. Hilarion in his later years and provided much of the information that St. Jerome used to write his biography. This biography is the principal surviving source of information about St. Hilarion. His feast day is also kept on the same day by the churches of the Byzantine Rite, in which he is called St. Hilarion the Great, a distinction he shares with his contemporary, St. Anthony, another monastic founder.
St. Jerome's Use of Classical Tradition
In one of his letters, St. Jerome tells the story of how he forsook classical literature when Christ told him in a vision that he was not a Christian, but a Ciceronian. While this may be seen as a rhetorical device to dissuade people from an excessive interest in the classical tradition over Christian learning, St. Jerome demonstrates in his prologue to the Life of St. Hilarion how the classical tradition can be used in service of the Faith.
Latin Text: “Scripturus vitam beati Hilarionis, habitatorem ejus invoco Spiritum Sanctum; ut qui illi virtutes largitus est, mihi ad narrandas eas sermonem tribuat, ut facta dictis exaequentur. Eorum enim qui fecere, virtus … tanta habetur, quantum eam verbis potuere extollere praeclara ingenia. Alexander Magnus Macedo, … cum ad Achillis tumulum pervenisset: Felicem te, ait, juvenis, qui magno frueris praecone meritorum! Homerum videlicet significans. Porro mihi tanti ac talis viri conversatio, vitaque dicenda est, ut Homerus quoque si adesset, vel invideret materiae, vel succumberet.”
Translation: “As I am about to write the life of the blessed Hilarion, I invoke the Holy Spirit who dwelt in him, that He who bestowed virtues upon (the saint) may grant me speech to relate them, so that (my) words may be made equal to his deeds. For the virtue of those who have done great deeds is esteemed to be as great as outstanding minds are able to proclaim them with their word. Alexander the Great of Macedon … when he had come to the tomb of Achilles, said, ‘Happy are you, o youth, who enjoy a great herald of your merits!’ meaning Homer, of course. I, however, must tell the story of the deeds and life of such a man, and he so great, that even if Homer were here, he would either envy me the subject, or prove unequal to it.”
