Official feasts used to be an important part of the human community. People would gather together to remember something sacred, express their faith and hope for the future, and / or just be together formally, recognizing each other as being part of a shared community. Few things express a desire for shared companionship and social intimacy more than dining together. Sadly, the gathering together for feasting is increasingly a relic of the past – at least here in the West.
It need not be so! Today we will remember the ancient feasts.
The Feast Day of St. Hilarion
This is a Christian religious celebration of Hilarion, a 3rd and 4th century Christian anchorite hermit who spent most of his life in the desert and in the coastal area near Gaza, and is now considered to be the founder of Palestinian monasticism. Living as a hermit, he was sought out for healing, exorcisms, prophetic words, and spiritual training. This led him to establish a monastery. Hilarion is the patron saint of Caulonia, a southern Italian town in Calabria, under the name Sant’Ilario.
On icons, Hilarion is depicted as an old man with a brown, rush-like beard divided into three points and he holds sometimes a scroll which reads: “The tools of a monk are steadfastness, humility, and love according to God.”
Hilarion (c. 291 – 371), also known by the bynames of Thavata, of Gaza and, in the Orthodox Church, as the Great, was a Christian anchorite who spent most of his life in the desert according to the example of Anthony the Great (c. 251–356). While Anthony is considered to have established Christian monasticism in the Egyptian Desert, Hilarion, who lived in the coastal area near Gaza, is considered by his biographer Jerome (c. 342/347 – 420), to be the founder of Palestinian monasticism – regarding this claim see also Hilarion’s contemporary, Chariton (mid-3rd century – c. 350), founder of monasticism in the Judaean Desert. Hilarion is venerated as a saint exemplifying monastic virtues by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic Church.
Biography
Origin and life as a hermit
Hilarion was born around 291 to pagan parents in Tabatha, a village five miles south of Gaza. Hilarion was at least bilingual, speaking both Greek as well as Aramaic which was common around Gaza. His pagan parents sent him in his youth to study with a grammarian in Alexandria, where he gave, according to Jerome, a remarkable proof of his ability and character and became an accomplished speaker. While in Alexandria, he heard of the hermit Anthony and set off to study with him. After two months of learning the ascetic life from Anthony, Hilarion started to feel that the many visitors who came to Anthony for healing or exorcism were too much to bear and he decided to set off in the wilderness of Palestine to live alone as a hermit.
Hilaron returned to Gaza where he found his parents dead and subsequently gave away his goods to his brothers and the poor. He then established himself as a hermit in the desert inland from the coastal road, seven miles from Maiuma, the port of Gaza. Though he went on one occasion to Jerusalem to venerate the holy sites, he chose not to live in the Judaean Desert as he did not wish to appear to confine God within prescribed limits, believing he could be close to God anywhere. Around 308, he built a hut where he lived in solitude for 22 years and which survived into the time of Jerome. Hilarion wove baskets as he had learned in Egypt where this was a common monastic occupation. Here he also struggled against fleshly desires and Jerome said that the devil tempted Hilarion by igniting the “flames of lust” in the young man. Hilarion fought this sexual desire by mortifying his body with hunger, thirst and strenuous labour.
Life in Gaza and attributed miracles
After the 22 years he lived in his solitary hut, Hilarion was approached by a brave woman who sought a cure for her sterility. First, he resisted, but soon he prayed for her upon which she was healed. From then on, Hilarion spent his life surrounded by disciples and people in need of healing and exorcism. Jerome reports several episodes in which Hilarion heals people, drives out demons, foresees the future, performs miracles and speaks divinely inspired words of wisdom. In one instance, Hilarion was able to heal the three children of Helpidius, who would later become praetorian prefect In Bethelea, Hilarion healed miraculously a certain Alaphion, which led to the conversion of the prominent family of the historian Sozomen.
Saint Hilarion, 11th-century mosaic from Hosios Loukas
As there were no monasteries in Palestine or Syria at the time, people began to flock to Hilarion for spiritual training. Sozomen, possibly due to his local sources, singles out Epiphanius and Hesyach as the two most outstanding in the circle around Hilarion. Epiphanius, who is known by the bynames ‘of Eleutheropolis’ and ‘of Salamis’, became his disciple after returning from Egypt and would later go to Cyprus where he introduced monasticism and was elected bishop of Salamis around 367/368. With many more people seeking his guidance, Hilarion established a monastery during the reign of emperor Constantius (337–361) which, by the time he was sixty-three, consisted of a large community with many visitors.
Final years and death
Hilarion remained in Gaza until three years after the death of Anthony (around 356), upon which he went to the place where Anthony had died in Egypt in order to escape the crowds that visited him. While he was there, the pagan Julian became emperor of the East in the winter of 361/362 and the city authority of Gaza attempted to arrest Hilarion who then had to flee. Jerome’s and Sozomen’s account differs slightly as Jerome writes that Hilarion escaped arrest in Egypt and lived there until Julian’s death before travelling to Sicily, Hilarion went according to Sozomen directly to Sicily. From there, he went soon to Epidauros in Dalmatia where he was said to have stilled the sea during the tsunami of 21 July 365 by drawing three crosses in the sand. Immediately after that, he went to Cyprus.
Hilarion was welcomed in Cyprus by his old disciple Epiphanius who encouraged him to stay. He initially settled near Paphos but later retired to a more remote place twelve miles away. Here, Hilarion died at the age of eighty and was buried. Ten months after Hilarion’s death, his disciple Hesyach stole his body, which was perfectly preserved and smelled sweetly, and interred it in his own monastery at Maiuma.
Veneration and relics
Sozomen reports that after Hilarion’s body was interred at his monastery, the local population started to celebrate an annual festival at the place. His relics continued to be venerated and are also mentioned by the anonymous Piacenza Pilgrim around the year 570.
Hilarion was venerated from early time in both East and West as an example of monastic holiness. Bede included him in his martyrology and he appeared frequently in Pre-Conquest English monastic calendars before his feast was ousted by those of Ursula and Dunstan‘s ordination. Charlemagne is said to have brought the relics of Hilarion to Moissac Abbey from where they were transferred to the church of Duravel in 1065.
Hilarion is the patron saint of Caulonia, a southern Italian town in Calabria, under the name Sant’Ilario.
On icons, Hilarion is depicted as an old man with a brown, rush-like beard divided into three points and he holds sometimes a scroll which reads: “The tools of a monk are steadfastness, humility, and love according to God.”
Sources
Upon Hilarion’s death, Epiphanius announced his death in a laudatory letter which served as primary source for both Jerome and Sozomenus who wrote subsequent hagiographies about Hilarion. Jerome wrote his Life of Hilarion in Latin around 390 in the monastery of Paula in Bethlehem. Jerome’s work was translated into Greek by contemporary writer Sophronius upon whose translation Jerome looked favourably. Jerome was inspired by reading the Life of Anthony which also served as a literary model with regard to its content and ecclesiastic function of the text. There are two major themes Jerome focuses on, one being Hilarion’s search for a life of solitary prayer and contemplation and the other being Hilarion’s role as successor to Anthony. Jerome’s goal was not so much to write a historical exact account but rather a hagiographic composition focusing on the life and deeds of Hilarion. Though Jerome’s historical accuracy has been occasionally questioned, there can be no doubt that Hilarion was a historical figure and that Gaza became during his time a center of monasticism.
Hilarion’s life is mentioned in the third, fifth and sixth book of Sozomen’s Ecclesiastical history, which was written in the 440s. Whereas in the third book no new information to Jerome’s Life of Hilarion is added and is in parts less detailed, Sozomen adds new information in the fifth and sixth books, possibly thanks to his local sources and own family history. Sozomen’s own origin and literary aims as a historian therefore result in a different historical sketch of Hilarion’s life than that of Jerome.
Johann Gottfried Herder wrote the poem “The Paradise in the desert” about the teacher-disciple relation between Anthony and Hilarion in 1797. This motif was also taken up by Gustave Flaubert in his The Temptation of Saint Anthony, though changed, as Hilarion attempts to tempt Anthony away from his faith by creating doubt. Hermann Hesse adapted a biography of Hilarion as one of the three Lives of Joseph Knecht, making his Nobel Prize–winning novel The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi).
What is something you can eat to celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Hilarion?
I often try to tie the culinary offering to something about the saint himself, whether that be as a means to visually illustrate a part of his or her life tory, or to remind anyone eating where the saint lived. I will admit, though, that it was a difficult task to guess what a desert dwelling hermit might have been eating.
The good news is that he did venture out occasionally AND he was definitely inside the territory of the Roman Empire. So I thought I’d share a Roman Empire era dish that Hilarion may well have eaten once or twice himself.
1/2 cup fresh berries, vibrant and juicy (for serving)
1 tbsp chia seeds, tiny but mighty (for serving)
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, combine the rinsed pearled barley and whole milk. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. The barley should be tender and the mixture thickened. Tip: If the porridge gets too thick, add a splash of milk to loosen it up.
Stir in the honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld together beautifully. Tip: Taste and adjust the sweetness with more honey if desired, but remember, the berries will add natural sweetness too.
Remove from heat and let the porridge sit for 5 minutes. It will thicken slightly as it cools. Tip: For an extra creamy texture, give it a vigorous stir before serving to fluff it up.
Serve warm, topped with fresh berries and a sprinkle of chia seeds for a delightful crunch.
What is a prayer you can say on the Feast Day of St. Hilarion?
Saint Hilarion, founder of monastic life in the Holy Land, who sought solitude even as your holiness became famous, teach us to seek God quietly rather than recognition. Amen.
When is the Feast Day of St. Hilarion the Great celebrated?
This feast is celebrated annually on 21 October.
I hope that everyone who celebrates has a wonderful day!
