Hilarion of Kiev

Saint Hilarion of Kiev, hierarch, was the first metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus of Slavic origin, a presbyter at the princely residence of Berestovo, a scholar and writer, author of the Sermon on Law and Grace. He was installed in 1051 by a synod of Russian bishops, at the wish of Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise. He died around 1054 to 1055. He is commemorated on 28 September.

Life

Few sure facts are known about his life, and not all mentions of the name Larion in the chronicles can be attributed to him with certainty. According to the Primary Chronicle, Hilarion was a priest at the church of the Holy Apostles in Berestovo near Kiev, the country residence of Prince Yaroslav. The chronicle calls him a good man, learned and a faster. He used to withdraw from Berestovo to a wooded hill on the bank of the Dnieper, at the place where the Caves Lavra was later built, and there dug himself a small cave, in which he read the service of the hours and prayed to God in secret. Later, in the same cave lived Saint Anthony of the Caves, who had returned from Athos.

In 1051, at Yaroslav's wish, a synod of Russian bishops installed Hilarion as metropolitan in the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Kiev. He was the first Rus to ascend the throne of Kiev: until then the metropolitans had been Greeks, sent from Constantinople, and Hilarion was not appointed by the patriarch there. Bishop Luke Zhidyata of Novgorod opposed it, probably thinking the appointment uncanonical, and was held three years at the Caves Lavra. In a note by Hilarion, he calls himself monk and priest, set as metropolitan in Kiev in the year 6559 (1051), in the time of Prince Yaroslav. Yaroslav's charter on church courts was issued together with Metropolitan Hilarion. Hilarion consecrated the church of Saint George in Kiev, built by Yaroslav, and, according to a tradition, tonsured and ordained Leontius, bishop of Rostov. Hilarion did not shepherd long: in 1055 to 1056 the chronicles mention his successor, Metropolitan Ephraim, a Greek. He is not to be confused with Saint Hilarion of the Caves, who died in 1074.

Writings

Hilarion is the best known of the ancient metropolitans of Kiev through his writings. He is regarded as the founder of learned old Russian literature. His most important work is the Sermon on Law and Grace (between 1037 and 1050), the oldest known original literary work of Rus, which glorifies the Russian land and Prince Vladimir, through whom Rus was baptized, and shows the Russian people as a new Christian people. A Prayer and a Confession of Faith are also attributed to him. His writings stand out for the oratorical rhythm of the prose, the patriotic pathos and the fire of faith.