The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 1

IV. Hilary First to Link Priesthood With Antichrist

HILARY OF POITIERS (c. 300-c. 368) is one of the great, yet little studied, of the fathers of the Western church. He was born in Gaul, of noble pagan parentage, and received the best Roman education of his time. His thoughts were definitely molded by Neoplatonism and influenced by the writings of Origen. Equipped with such an education he approached Christianity in mature life, and was convinced of its truth by independent study of the Scriptures. He came to the faith, Augustine said, laden with the gold, silver, and raiment of “Egypt,” and he would naturally wish to find a Christian employment for the philosophy he brought out of Egypt with him. ²⁰ PFF1 408.1

About the year 350 he was created bishop of Poitiers, and soon after became involved in the great Athanasian-Arian controversy. Taking a firm stand on the Athanasian side, he was banished to Phrygia by the emperor Constantius, who favored Arianism. Here in Phrygia, Hilary completed his most important work De Trinitate (On the Trinity). It was really a brilliant piece of spade work, as there were no predecessors in the West in this field from whom he could draw. PFF1 408.2

His thoughts were original, and often were expressed in an original way, so that his writings became “the quarry whence many of the best thoughts of Ambrose and Leo are hewn. ²¹ Eminent and successful as these men were, they can scarcely be ranked with Hilary in sheer intellectual endowment. And one is led to wonder how many of their conclusions would have been drawn had not Hilary supplied the premises. It is a distinct honor that the unrivaled genius of Augustine is deeply indebted to him. ²² PFF1 408.3

1. CONTENDS FOR ORTHODOXY

Hilary was a stanch defender of the Trinity as taught by the Western church, and therefore saw the predicted Antichrist in those who denied the divinity of the Son and considered Him to be but a created Being. “Hence also they who deny that Christ is the Son of God must have Antichrist for their Christ,” ²³ was the way he expressed it. In Watson’s classic introduction to the works of Hilary the following summarizing statement appears: PFF1 408.4

“He [Hilary] begins by speaking of the blessings of peace, which the Christians of that day could neither enjoy nor promote, beset as they were by the forerunners of Antichrist.... They bear themselves not as bishops of Christ but as priests of Antichrist. This is not random abuse, but sober recognition of the fact, stated by St. John, that there are many Antichrists. For these men assume the cloak of piety, and pretend to preach the Gospel, with the one object of inducing others to deny Christ. It was the misery and folly of the day that men endeavoured to promote the cause of God by human means and the favour of the world. Hilary asks bishops, who believe in their office, whether the Apostles had secular support when by their preaching they converted the greater part of mankind.... PFF1 409.1

“The Church seeks for secular support, and in so doing insults Christ by the implication that His support is insufficient. She in her turn holds out the threat of exile and prison. It was her endurance of these that drew men to her; now she imposes her faith by violence. She craves for favours at the hand of her communicants; once it was her consecration that she braved the threatenings of persecutors. Bishops in exile spread the Faith; now it is she that exiles bishops. She boasts that the world loves her; the world’s hatred was the evidence that she was Christ’s.... The time of Antichrist, disguised as an angel of light, has come. The true Christ is hidden from almost every mind and heart. Antichrist is now obscuring the truth that he may assert falsehood hereafter.” ²⁴ PFF1 409.2

2. ANTICHRIST WILL BE SEATED IN CHURCHES

In his struggle for orthodoxy, and after his defeat by Auxentius, bishop of Milan, Hilary addressed an open letter to the “beloved brethren,” in which he admonished them to be watchful about the insidious ways of Antichrist’s deceptions. These were practically his last public statements: PFF1 409.3

“One thing I warn you: beware of Antichrist. For the evil love of walls has captured you. You wrongly venerate the Church of God in [the form of] roofs and buildings; in these you wrongly find the name of peace. Can it be doubted that in these Antichrist is to be seated? To me mountains and forests and lakes, and prisons and chasms are safer. For the prophets, either dwelling in these or being plunged into them, prophesied in the spirit of God.” ²⁵ PFF1 409.4