Venerable Hilarion the Great (†371–372) — October 21 / November 3 (Julian Calendar)

On this day, October 21 according to the Julian Calendar (November 3 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates Venerable Hilarion the Great.

Venerable Hilarion the Great was born in 291 near the city of Gaza in Palestine, in the village of Tabatha. He was sent to Alexandria to study the sciences, where he came into contact with Christians and was baptized. Hearing of the angelic life of Venerable Anthony the Great (commemorated January 17), the saint hastened to him. Soon Hilarion returned to his homeland, but found that his parents had died. He distributed all his property to relatives and the poor, and settled in the desert near the city of Maiuma to labor in asceticism.

The venerable father unceasingly struggled against impure thoughts and desires, which clouded his mind and inflamed his body, striving to subdue them through hard labor, fasting, and prayer. The demons wished to frighten the Lord’s chosen one with phantoms and apparitions: during prayer he would hear the crying of children, the wailing of women, and the roaring of lions and other beasts. The blessed one understood that the demons were trying to drive him out of the desert with such terrors, and with fervent prayer he overcame his fear.

Once, robbers attacked Venerable Hilarion, but with a grace-filled word he persuaded them to abandon their sinful way of life.

All Palestine learned of the holy ascetic. The Lord granted him the gift of casting out unclean spirits, and the saint healed those afflicted with spiritual and bodily illnesses. The blessed father discerned by which passion each person was possessed. Many came to Venerable Hilarion, desiring to labor under his guidance. Monasteries built with the saint’s blessing multiplied throughout Palestine, and he himself traveled from one monastery to another, strengthening a strict ascetic way of life among the brethren. In his land the saint was a teacher just as Anthony the Great was in Egypt. Seven years before his repose, Venerable Hilarion settled on the island of Cyprus and labored there in a deserted place until the Lord called him to Himself (†371–372).