87
edits
Changes
no edit summary
Our father among the [[saint]]s '''Hilarion of Meglin''' was a [[bishop]] of the eleventh century known for his teachings against [[heresy|heresies]] and his support of [[monasticism]]. He is commemorated by the [[church]] on [[October 21]] alongside St. [[Hilarion the Great]] and Venerable Hilarion, the Schemamonk of the [[Kiev Caves]].
__NOTOC__
==Life==
In 1134, he was consecrated [[Bishop]] of Meglin by Eustathius, Archbishop of Trnovo. Holy Tradition holds that Eustathius was also visited in a vision by the Virgin Mary who announced to him that Hilarion would soon be placed as leader of the Meglin region. During this time, the Bogomil heresy was spreading through Bulgaria. The followers of this group believed that 'good and evil manifest themselves as independent principles and a struggle between the two ensues.'
His lifelong struggle and contribution to the Orthodox church was against the [[Bogomilism|Bogomils]]. In refuting their teachings, Hilarion said:
:''You are not Christians at all, since you are hostile to the Cross of Christ the Savior. You do not acknowledge the One God, you slander the teachings of the [[Old Testament]] venerated by Christians. You deceive people by hypocritical meekness while full of pride. True piety is not possible in those who do not see their own heart's corruption, but by those who ask God's grace with prayer and humility. Evil thoughts, envy, vanity, greed, lies are not the deed of some evil thing within man to be conquered by mere fasting. These vices are the fruit of self-love which demands rooting out by spiritual efforts.'' <ref>[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=103010 Translation of the relics of St Hilarion the Bishop of Meglin in Bulgaria] (OCA)</ref>
[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:12th-century bishops]]
[[Category:Bulgarian Saints]]
[[Category:Byzantine Saints]]
[[Category:Greek Saints]]
[[Category:Saints]]
[[Category:12th-century saints]]
