Hierarch
Hierarch Hilarius, Bishop of Rome
нач. V века — †29 февраля 468
Also known as: Иларий Римский, папа Иларий
Holy Hierarch Hilarius, Bishop of Rome (pope from 461 to 468) — in 449, as a papal legate at the Ephesus "Robber Council," he alone openly opposed the unlawful deposition of St. Flavian of Constantinople, declaring "Contradicitur"; later, upon ascending the Roman see, he continued the policy of his predecessor St. Leo the Great, and died peacefully in 468.
Holy Hierarch Hilarius was born in Sardinia, the son of a certain Crispinus. He served as deacon (archdeacon) of the Roman Church under Patriarch Leo the Great, zealously defending the rights of the Roman see.
In 449, sent by Leo the Great as papal legate (together with Bishop Julius of Puteoli) to the Second Council of Ephesus (the "Robber Council"), he alone publicly declared "Contradicitur" ("It is opposed") in the pope's name, refusing to sign the unlawful deposition of St. Flavian of Constantinople, who soon died of injuries sustained at the council. The enraged Dioscorus of Alexandria ordered the roads and harbor watched to prevent Hilarius from leaving Ephesus; he fled by an indirect, dangerous route and returned to Rome, attributing his miraculous deliverance to the intercession of the Apostle John the Theologian.
On November 19, 461, he was elected Bishop of Rome, succeeding St. Leo the Great. He continued the policy of asserting Roman primacy: he held a council in 462 on matters of church discipline in Gaul and Spain, required the Bishop of Arles to convene annual provincial councils; in 467 he publicly rebuked Emperor Anthemius in the Basilica of St. Peter for tolerating heretical sects.
In fulfillment of a vow made during his Ephesian ordeal, he built two oratories at the Lateran Baptistery in honor of John the Baptist and John the Theologian, as well as a chapel of the Holy Cross, a hospice, baths, and libraries near the Basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, restoring churches damaged in the 455 Vandal sack of Rome. At his order, Victorius of Aquitaine compiled a Paschal cycle (table for calculating Easter).
He died peacefully in Rome on February 29, 468, having reigned 6 years, 3 months, and 10 days. He is buried in the Basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura.
NOTE ON THE COMMEMORATION DATE: in the Western (Catholic) tradition his feast is kept on November 17 (pre-reform calendar) or on the anniversary of his death, February 28/29; in the Orthodox calendar sources checked (days.pravoslavie.ru), no stable confirmation of a date was found — the hierarch likely belongs to the pre-schism Western saints included in specialized menologia rather than the general Byzantine calendar.