2. The ecclesiastical poet, confronted with the phenomenon of “Hilarion,” seeks to find words and images in order to portray properly his place in the Church, both while he lived in this world and in the glory of heaven. In this world, on the one hand, he sees him as a model and a support for monastics, since he was an exceptionally great hesychast: among other things, he describes him as the “foundation of those who live the monastic life”; on the other hand, he describes him as a “guide of those who are being saved in the Spirit of God,” that is, with the Spirit of God as their guide, he also guides Christians living in the world who desire their salvation.
From this perspective, the Venerable Hilarion was, for all Christians, monks and laypeople alike, a “treasury of healings” and a “Prophet of God,” an “unshakable pillar reaching to heaven” and an “immovable tower,” literally a “fiery chariot bearing the name of the Lord,” truly a “sun … scattering everywhere the rays of its miracles.” In the glory of God, on the other hand, the Hymnographer “beholds” him “as a lofty cedar, raised up through virtue and planted in the courts of God; and as an enclosed garden, a flourishing Paradise, and a fountain of healings.” In other words, he is not only an “ornament” of Paradise, a tall cedar planted in the courts of God, but he himself constitutes a paradise, an enclosed garden.
What is the reason for these, as we might call them, “exaggerated” descriptions? First, Venerable Hilarion “became filled with the Holy Spirit,” because “divine eros wounded him,” with the result that he was able “to subdue the passions of the body through self-restraint, bringing them under the rule of the noetic faculty of the soul,” and “to escape the tumults of the world through holy ascents.” The Hymnographer offers another beautiful image: “With the sword of self-restraint, he scraped away the leather tunics of death and wove a garment of salvation.” Consequently, "when Christ beheld his meekness and tranquility, He made His dwelling in him, and he became a divine habitation."
Second, Venerable Hilarion was a disciple of Venerable Anthony the Great, one of the greatest saints of our Church, whose God-inspired life he imitated to the fullest and whose virtues he assimilated. “Having emulated the life of the divine Anthony, he was conformed to the same measures of virtue.” “Having spiritually emulated the virtuous life of the divine Anthony.”
The Hymnographer’s noetic "lens" focuses even closer on this theme: 'Being brought to God, O God-bearer, by the hands of the godly-minded Anthony." How else could the poet demonstrate the exceptionally close relationship between Hilarion and his spiritual elder, Anthony? We insist on this relationship because it is impossible for someone to remember Saint Anthony without being moved—or, more precisely, without being brought to compunction—since this supremely great saint is among the “Holy of Holies” of Paradise. Thus, through the Venerable Hilarion, Anthony’s disciple, we breathe the atmosphere of his teacher. We also associate with his other great disciple, Saint Athanasius, and we are truly touched by the very energy of God Himself. What a holy atmosphere the hymns of our Church truly transport us into! They literally become windows through which we can “see,” if only a little, the sacred depths of heaven!
Despite the close—indeed, exceptionally close—relationship between the venerables Anthony and Hilarion, one can also discern a difference in their characters. Although at first glance they appear to be on the same wavelength in terms of character, they nevertheless differ. How does this become apparent? The Venerable Anthony was a great hesychast. Although at times, when he judged that the body of the Church’s faithful needed him, he would leave his stillness and descend into the world, his constant choice was complete dedication to God, “alone with God alone,” living in the desert and always pursuing the stillness of solitude.
The Venerable Hilarion, Anthony’s disciple and follower, was also a hesychast, but at the same time he possessed a missionary zeal. He withdrew into solitude, but he also drew close to the world in a tangible way. It is no coincidence that, at a certain point, as we have said, he left Anthony and returned to his homeland. Later, after his withdrawal into the desert, he returned to the world, carrying out missionary work in various cities and countries and healing people. The Hymnographer expresses this beautifully: “The sound of your words and the divine grace of your miracles have gone forth throughout the whole earth, O holy father.”
This observation deserves particular attention. For it shows us, on the one hand, that every person is different, but that this difference does not hinder the possibility of sanctification; on the contrary, it multiplies that possibility. On the other hand, God strengthens and sets in operation what He sees as each person’s gift. In other words, holiness does not, as we say, “put a person into a mold”; it does not place him within a specific external framework or impose uniformity upon him, but brings his individuality to the fore, simply placing it at the service of God’s will. In short, God does not alter what constitutes a person’s character. He alters what constitutes a distortion of that character: sin, so that the radiance of His presence may pour forth through each person. What freedom! What beauty in our faith! What love on the part of God Himself!
