HILARY, SAINT, Bishop of Poictiers, and doctor of the church, althouoth 1w no means among the most voluminous of the Latin fathers, yet, from the nature Of the sub jects on .which lie wrote, chiefly connected with the Arian controversy, occupies an important place in the patristic literature of the Western church. He was born of Macau parents at Lemonum (Poicuers) in the early part of the 4th century. His conversioni to Christianity was mainly the result of his own study of the prophecies, and did not take place till he was advanced in life. About the year 350 he was elected bishop of his native city, and immediately rose to the first place in the animated contest of parties in the Arian controversy. Having provoked the displeasure of the court party, he was imprisoned, and sent into exile in Phrygia; but he appears again in the council of Selencia in 359, and soon afterwards was •permitted to .resume possession of his see, where he died, 307. The church holds his day on Jan. 13. his most important work is that on the Trinity, but his three addresses to the emperor Constantius, by their vehe mence, and by the boldness of their language, have most attracted the notice of critics. Ililary's theological writings are especially valuable for the history of the Arian party, and particularly for the doctrinal variations of that sect, and the successive phases through which it passed between the council of Nice and the first council of Constanti nople. The best edition of the works of St. Hilary is that of the Benedictine Dom.
Constant (Paris, 1693), or the reprint of it with additional matter by :Maffei (Verona; 1730).—There is a second bishop of the same name \rho occupies a conspicuous place in the history of the 5th c., [Immix OF ARLES, born in 401, educated at the celebrated monastic school of Lerins, and made bishop of his native city in 429. As metropolitan of Arles, he presided at several synods, and especially at Orange in 441, the proceedings of which involved him in a serious controversy with the pope, Leo the great. deposed bishop, named Chelidonius, having carried an-appeal to Rome, a council was summoned by pope Leo, at which Hilary was present, and in which the condemnation of Chelidonius, as well as that of another bishop, Projeetus, was reversed. Hilary, how ever, refused to submit to the decision, and soon afterwards quitted Rome—a proceed ing which drew upon himself a very severe animadversion. Ile did not question the anthority in itself, but he maintained that it was uncanonically exercised. In the end, however, he sought a reconciliation with pope Leo, and the dispute was brought to an amicable termination. Hilary died in his 48th year at Arles in 449.