Hilaire de Poitiers
v. 315-367 4th century Feast day: January 13
Faith seeking to understand, without shrinking the mystery it adores.
Who was Hilaire de Poitiers?
A Gallo-Roman notable converted in midlife, he became bishop of Poitiers and a defender of the Nicene faith against Arianism, which earned him several years of exile in the East. There he discovered Greek theology and wrote his great treatise on the Trinity. Returned to Gaul, he taught that the unreachable God has nonetheless given Himself to be known.
In their own words
I am well aware, Lord God almighty, that I owe You this before all else: that my every word and thought should speak of You.
The errors of heretics force us to lift our words to perilous heights, to say the unsayable, to venture where it would be safer to keep silence.