Saintly Saturday: St. Hilary of Poitiers

Today is the Feast of St. Hilary of Poitiers. Born in the 4th century A.D. of pagan parents in Gaul (modern day France), he was trained in philosophy and rhetoric. In his adult life, he saw the weaknesses of a pagan world-view and embraced Christianity. In A.D. 350 he was elected bishop of Poitier were, along with St. Athanasius the Great (who was his contemporary), defended the Orthodox Faith in a sea of Arianism. In other words, most of Christendom under the leadership of the Arian Emperor Constantius believed that Christ not only did not share the same nature as the Father but that there was a time when the Son was not. In contrast, St. Hilary insisted that the three persons of the Holy Trinity were of one nature.

In A.D. 355, the Emperor required all of the bishops to sign a letter condemning St. Athanasius. St. Hilary refused and was sent into exile in Phrygia, which is in west-central modern-day Turkey. It was there that St. Hilary wrote his seminal work On the Trinity. The Emperor soon found that having St. Hilary in such close proximity to the capital was actually causing more trouble than it was worth and St. Hilary was returned to his see in A.D. 360 where he served until his death in A.D. 368. St. Martin of Tours was his protege and after founding a monastery near Poitiers continued St. Hilary’s legacy when elected to be bishop of Tours in A.D. 370.

We are also in the season of Epiphany, which for the Orthodox Church is a celebration of the Trinity:

As You were baptized in the Jordan, O Lord, then the worship of the Trinity became manifest, for the voice of the Father bore witness to You, naming You the Beloved Son; and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the certainty of the word. O Christ God, who appeared and illumined the world, glory to You. — Apolytikion of the Feast of Epiphany [emphasis mine]

Many years ago now, JB of B/X Blackrazor asked the question Wherefore Art Thou Religion? In response, I declared Religion Art Right Here where I detailed some of the default fantasy analog for Christianity I use in a lot of my campaigns. This post, however, does not explain the Trinitarian nature of the Istinite God. I delve into my thinking on this with this Saintly Saturday post on St. Athansius himself.

This is all a prelude to adding to this tapestry of a fantasy analog of Christianity by taking an early Christian hymn attributed to St. Hilary and passing it through the metaphoric engine I proposed based on the paradigmata of St. Athansius the Great.

First, lets look at the Hymn Gone are the Shades of Night by St. Hilary:

Gone are the shades of night,
The hours of rest are o'er;
New beauties sparkle bright,
And heaven is light once more.
To Thee our prayers shall speed,
O Lord of light Divine;
Come to our utmost need,
And in our darkness shine.
Spirit of love and light,
May we Thine image know,
And in Thy glory bright,
To full perfection grow.
Hear us, O Father blest,
Save us, O Christ the Son;
Thou Comforter the best,
Lead us till life is done.

Note that the metaphoric theme here is Light vs. Dark. The metaphor I use to describe the fantasy analog of the Trinity for my campaign world is borrowed from D&D: Law vs. Chaos or Civilization vs. the Wilderness:

Nomos (which roughly translates as Law)
Isten (which roughly translates as Crown or King)
Thikeosyni (which roughly translates as Citizenship or Righteousness)

Thus, in order to make this hymn an analog, it is necessary to shift the metaphor and images from Light vs. Dark to Law vs. Chaos.

Gone are the designs of the demonic wilderness
The hours of fear have passed
Remade are the citizens of our metropolis
The people of the New Kingdom are massed
To You our prayers shall speed
O King of the City Divine
Come to our utmost need
In the Chaos it is your rule for which we pine
Citizenship of all that is good and right
May we Your crown know
And in your reign of might
To full perfection grow
Hear us, O Law most blest,
Save us, O Isten the King,
You Righteousness best,
Lead us to life everlasting.

And thus, an analog hymn for my fantasy analog for Christianity based on the work of St. Hilary of Poitiers is born.

World Building: Sources & Influences

The other day, a priest friend of mine, knowing of my passing interest in all things Welsh, gave to me an article about the Holy Wells of Wales. Something that many of us forget is that Britain was conquered by the Romans in A.D. 41 and was Christian very early on. St. Aristobulus, one of the 70 Apostles and mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:10, went to Britain and became its first bishop. When the Church gathered at the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea in 325, bishops from Britain were in attendance. When Rome abandoned its colonies in the 5th century, pagan Goths invaded the island and drove the Christians west into modern day Wales and Cornwall.

In Wales, it being a mountainous country, water supply was an acute problem. Thus, wells and springs have been central to both the pagan and Christian inhabitants (see the resting place of Excalibur, for example). When the Christians arrived, these wells and springs came to be associated with various saints and some were even supposed to have healing properties. This struck me because I have been meditating upon the Scriptural metaphor of God as a fountain, as understood by St. Athanasius, and its potential for use in an RPG fantasy setting.

Athanasius was at that First Ecumenical Council at the beginning of the fourth century and spent his life defending that council and the position that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are of one essence. In defending this position in a letter to his friend Serapion, he points out that the Father is equated to a fountain (Jer 2;13; Bar 3:12). In turn the Son is called a river (Psalm 65:10) and we are told that we drink of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 12:13).

This metaphor accomplishes two things. Firstly, it gives us a working image to help us understand the Trinity. All three elements make up a functioning fountain — the fountain, the flow of water, and the ability to drink of it. Although these elements are distinct, they are also all a working fountain and it is impossible to conceive of a working fountain without one or more of these three. It is a practical way of understanding the dogmatic formula "One Godhead in Three Persons."

Secondly, it demonstrates that we are to participate in the Trinity. We drink of the Holy Spirit, which brings us into contact with the Son through whom we may do the will of the Father. This, ultimately, is the entire purpose of the Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension — to make it possible for us to drink of the Holy Spirit.

Taking this metaphor and running with it in context of a fantasy setting led me to consider these names for the persons of the Trinity:

• Ffynnon, which means Spring or Origin [Father]
• Afon(oes) which means River (of Life) [Son]
• Diod which means Drink [Holy Spirit]

This conception of the Trinity is wonderfully suggestive. They imply the "crucifixion" of Afon(oes) would be by drowning with the delectable divine irony of the River of Life dying in a river. Temples would be centered around living water — springs and rivers. There would be the liturgical action of blessing and drinking this living water. Initiation would by immersion in living water. In addition, these names are derived from Welsh — which dovetails beautifully into the concept of Holy Wells of Wales.

Thus, when deciding on geography for my map, I naturally looked to Wales — specifically where one can find Holy Wells. There are several in the NW part of Wales, especially on and around the island of Angelsey. Considering how interesting it looks, I decided that it would be the basis for my map.

Thus, via an article on the Holy Wells of Wales and St. Athanasius the Great and his Letter to Serapion on the Holy Spirit, I've come to having a good outline and sketch of the geography, the history, the culture and the religion of this fantasy setting.