St Hilary of Poitiers, the Athanasius of the West

The consecration as bishop of Hilary of Poitiers

One of the funniest saints is St Hilary of Poitiers, not only is his name in latin humorous, it is Hilarius.

I shall not give up my day job. 

Hilary was elected bishop in the year 353, in defiance of the reigning bishop who was an Arian - which is to say that the incumbent bishop did not believe in the Deity of Jesus, nor in the Trinity. Hilary, along with a number of others at the time, suffered persecution and exile for the sake of his faith. Despite this, his faith would not falter - and his faith, our faith, would prevail. 

His approach to the Trinity, and his understanding of what Jesus achieved for his people was remarkably clear. In his commentary on the Psalms he says:

"It was the Only-begotten Son of God Who was uplifted on the cross"

It was no stand-in, no substitute, but the very one who shares God's nature.

"He was condemned to death, Who is eternal by virtue of the origin which is His by the nature which He derives from the eternal Father"

Jesus was condemned to death, even though he is eternal - he gets his eternal nature from the Father.

"He submitted to suffering of His own Will, and not under compulsion."
Jesus was not tricked, or forced, or manipulated into dying - he died according to his own divine will.

"This suffering did not belong to His nature as eternal Son, yet it was freely undertaken, and was intended to fulfil a penal function"  

"God suffered, then, by voluntarily submitting to suffering; ... yet He never so abandoned the powers of His Nature as to feel pain." 

This is the scandalous Gospel; that the un-suffering sinless God would consent to suffer the penalty due to his sinful people. 

The faith that Hilary taught continues to touch the lives of Christians around the world - and even here in Bridgend. Why not take a moment this week to pray this prayer attributed to St Hilary:

Father, keep us from vain strife of words. 
Grant to us constant profession of the Truth! 
Preserve us in a true and undefiled faith 
so that we may hold fast to that 
which we professed when we were baptized 
in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
that we may have Thee for our Father, 
that we may abide in Thy Son 
and in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. 
Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

Central@4 returns, running every Sunday - see you 18th January