Pope Hilarius

Pope Hilarius (also Hilarus, Hilary; died 29 February 468) was the

In 449, Hilarius served as a legate for Pope Leo I at the Second Council of Ephesus. His opposition to the condemnation of Flavian of Constantinople incurred the enmity of Dioscurus of Alexandria, who attempted to prevent him from leaving the city. Hilarius was able to make his escape and returned to Rome by an indirect route. He later erected an oratory at the Lateran in honor of John the Evangelist, to whom he attributed his safe passage.

Much of his pontificate was spent in maintaining ecclesiastical discipline in conformity with canon law, and in settling jurisdictional disputes among the bishops of both Gaul and Spain.

Early career

Hilarius was born in Sardinia.^[3] As archdeacon under Pope Leo I, he fought vigorously for the rights of the Roman See.

In 449, Hilarius and Bishop Julius of Puteoli served as

For this he incurred the displeasure of Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria, who presided over the synod. Flavian died shortly afterwards, on 11 August 449, from injuries incurred from a physical assault by the followers of Dioscurus. According to a letter to Empress Pulcheria collected among the letters of Leo I, Hilarius apologized for not delivering to her the pope's letter after the synod, but owing to Dioscurus of Alexandria, who tried to hinder his going either to Rome or to Constantinople, he had great difficulty in making his escape in order to bring to the pontiff the news of the result of the council.^[4] Flavian and Eusebius of Dorylaeum appealed to the pope, and their letters were probably taken by Hilarus to Rome.^[5]

Papacy

As pope, he continued the policy of his predecessor, Leo I, who, in his contest with

Hermes, a former archdeacon of Narbonne, had illegally acquired the bishopric of that town. Two Gallican prelates were dispatched to Rome to lay before the pope this and other matters concerning the Church in Gaul. A Roman synod held on 19 November, 462, passed judgment upon these matters. Hilarius sent an Encyclical advising the provincial bishops of Vienne, Lyons, Narbonne, and the Alps that Hermes was to remain titular bishop of Narbonne, but his episcopal faculties were withheld.^[4]

Other decisions expressed in an encyclical were in the interests of increased discipline. A synod was to be convened yearly by the bishop of Arles, but all important matters were to be submitted to the Apostolic See. No bishop could leave his diocese without a written permission from his metropolitan, with a right of appeal to the Bishop of Arles. Respecting the parishes (paroeciae) claimed by Bishop Leontius of Arles as belonging to his jurisdiction, the Gallican bishops could decide, after an investigation. Church property could not be alienated until a synod had looked into the purpose of the sale.^[4]

Shortly after this, the pope found himself involved in another diocesan quarrel. In 463,