Welcome back! We hope you're ready for the first full week of Lent Madness action. Today, we head up to the Confusion Corner quadrant of the bracket as Melania the Elder faces Hilary of Poitiers. What's not confusing is that both of our contestants come to us via the 4th century. Spanish nun vs. French bishop.
On Saturday, Madeleine Sophie Barat slipped past Mesrop Mashtots 53% to 47%. We also test drove a new voting system which most, but not everyone, was able to successfully navigate. Thanks to everyone for your forbearance as we seek to balance security with ease of voting. With some tweaks, it should be smoother today.
Now back to voting!
Melania the Elder
Melania the Elder was born in Spain in the fourth century to a wealthy Roman family. When she was fourteen, she married (most likely, the Roman prefect Valerius Maximus) and moved to Rome. When she was 22 years old, her husband, probably many years older than she was, and two of her three children died within months of each other. Shortly thereafter, she sold her possessions and left for Egypt to adopt an ascetic life. She left her surviving son in the care of a guardian.
Melania (along with Rufinus Aquileia, her monastic companion) ultimately found her way to Jerusalem. While there, she established a monastery for 50 monastic women and funded the monastery founded by Rufinus. She and Rufinus worked closely together until around 400 when she returned to Rome to be with her son and his family. While in Rome, she had a deep impact on her granddaughter, Melania the Younger, who would ultimately follow in her ascetic footsteps.
Melania the Elder was one of the more scholarly and learned ascetic women of her time. She was known to esteemed theologians such as Evagrius Ponticus and Augustine of Hippo. She was a student of theology and studied Origenism extensively. Origen (also a fellow Lent Madness contestant) was a third-century theologian whose writings became a lightning rod at the end of the fourth century. As the Origenist controversy roiled the church, Melania worked both to defend Origenism as well as to promote unity. Saint Jerome’s early praise of her and later vitriol directed toward her perhaps best illustrates her intellectual prowess and the threat that she posed to his own theological sensibilities.
In addition to her scholarly work, Melania also financially supported and promoted monastics throughout her life. In addition to the monasteries that she founded and funded in Jerusalem, she offered regular support to other monastics as various theological controversies regularly shifted balances of power. Melania the Elder returned to her ascetic life in North Africa before finally journeying back to Jerusalem where she died in 410. She left a considerable endowment to support the continued work of the monastery that she established there.
Collect for Melania the Elder
Most High and Merciful God, who called your servant Melania to forsake earthly comforts in order to devote herself to studying the scriptures and to welcoming the poor: Instruct us in the ways of poverty and the grace of hospitality, that we might comfort those who have no place to rest and teach the way of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hilary may have been a leader of the church more than 1,700 years ago, but his keen understanding of the Trinity along with his profound teachings remain hallmarks of Christianity today.
Born in 310 CE in Poitiers, France, Hilary was a highly educated son of pagan parents. His study of both the Old and New Testaments led to his conversion to Christianity.
He was unanimously elected bishop of Poitiers in 350. He came into authority during a deep dispute and quickly became embroiled in a controversy about the Trinity: he supported Athanasius’s understanding of the Trinity and the full divinity of the Son. Unfortunately, this position put Hilary out of favor with Emperor Constantius II, who, in 355, ordered all bishops to sign a condemnation against Athanasius. Hillary refused, which prompted a four-year exile to Phrygia, located in modern-day Turkey.
He was not idle in exile. Hilary continued to function as bishop to his diocese, writing two of his most important books, an epistle, and many letters to leaders throughout the church. Among his many achievements, Hilary introduced Greek doctrine to Western Christianity. He was a prolific writer, including the critically important book, De Trinitate (On the Trinity). Three hymns are attributed to Hilary, including “Hail this day’s joyful return,” found in the 1982 Hymnal.
Hilary’s legacy is far-reaching, with Saint Augustine of Hippo calling him “the illustrious doctor of the churches,” and Saint Jerome considering him “the trumpet of the Latins against the Arians.” Pope Pius IX named Hilary a doctor of the church in 1851, one of only 36 doctors of the church, so named in recognition of his significant contributions to theology. He is considered the patron saint of lawyers. Hilary died in 367 in the same city where he was born, and his feast day is celebrated on January 13.
Hilary’s depth of understanding about the existence of God is exemplified in one of his more famous quotations: “There is no space where God is not; space does not exist apart from Him. He is in heaven, in hell, beyond the seas; dwelling in all things and enveloping all. Thus He embraces, and is embraced by, the universe, confined to no part of it but pervading all.”
Collect for Hilary of Poitiers
Keep us steadfast, Lord God, in that true faith that we professed at our baptism; that, like your servant Hilary of Poitiers, we may rejoice in having you for our Father, and may abide in your Son, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit; for you live and reign for ever and ever as one God in Trinity of Persons. Amen.
287 comments on “Melania the Elder vs. Hilary of Poitiers”
Both beautiful saints. Even though Melania the Elder is a little more familiar to me, I believe Hilary had a greater impact on the life of the Church; and the study of theology. I am that weird person who actually liked my systematics class. Hilary got my vote today. BTW, the voting system tweaks are a bit problematic. I couldn't vote the first try - the screen just "spun." The second try worked, but, honest, I did not vote twice.
As of 8:50 est the voting is working. No spinning white balls. LOL
It’s been a great weekend start to Kent Madness!
(I remembered to vote & the ladies are winning)
We’re going to have a Zooming Lent, signed up for activities at 3 sites & one is in the morning!!
Education for this woman is now continuing, thanks to the scholarly Melania
Two VERY compelling figures today. Of Melania, I first thought, I really don't care DO U. But this Melania was substantive and interesting. I feel as if a vote today is for or against Jerome. We're all (I am) going to have to become much more familiar with early controversies over the Trinity (homoousios anyone?) and the range of possibilities for imagining divinity within Christianity, many of which have been suppressed. I voted for this Melania because of her work with monasteries. I feel anglicanism was robbed of a vital heritage when Henry VIII suppressed the monasteries in a money/land grab.
I just voted with no problem
Voting going okay as of now. I voted for Hilary because he accomplished so much in his lifetime. There are a lot of good women in history who found monasteries and do good works and they are to be thanked, but a lot of the work of the early church was accomplished by people like Hilary. Also, he shares a birthday with a dear priest friend of mine who died several years ago.
No issues when I clicked on the 'Vote' box!
I wonder whether the battle for voting security has tipped over into unintentional voter suppression. In other words, the "cure" is far worse than the problem. So dedicated to preventing voter fraud, the Powers that Be have disenfranchised the innocent.
Real world parallel? Why do you ask?
In the real world, voter suppression is intentional.
Apparently, Lent Madness' voting has problems.
As St. Hilary said, "The error of others compels us to err in daring to embody in human terms truths which ought to be hidden in the silent veneration of the heart." (On the Trinity, Book 2)
I cannot cast a vote for someone who runs off and leaves a child, even though they are well-off and can suppiort her. It looks like running away from responsibility. Besides, Hilary has an exellent sparkling wine named for him, St. Hilaire
Fostering was widely practiced well into the middle ages as a means of extending family networks. Melania would probably have been thought very odd and selfish if she had kept a child, especially a boy, to herself.
Thank you, St. Celia. Perhaps her son was already in the guardian's household, as boys spent some years in another's home in order to be educated. We have to be careful about attributing today's societal feelings to those living thousands of years ago.
Voting is working. If you tried to vote earlier and couldn’t, try now. Happy Monday!
If any of you are curious
about the theological term homoousios
just ask Jerome
who will write another tome
attacking his enemies in a manner furious.
Quotation about presence of God won my vote!
It's just after 9 am voting just worked for me.
Looks like it got fixed! Hopefully, I won't get kicked out for multiple voting (attempts).
I haven't been able to successfully vote from my laptop (using Chrome browser) during this year's Lent Madness. I was able to vote via my phone on Saturday. Today on both my laptop and phone there was not option to vote on the page.
Try using your cell phone instead of computer. Works just fine.
I was able to look up Hilary’s lovely hymn on YouTube and it cinched my vote. How majestic that music can ring on centuries and millennia!
I was able to vote, and the current list of votes for each one is showing up, with Hilary leading! Thank you for fixing the voting workout!
celebrate scholarly women who were persecuted b/c they acted as "men" by using their minds and intellectual gifts
I finally was able to vote today on my computer- sadly, was not able to on Saturday on my phone. I wonder how many votes for Mashtots did not get accepted?
Wondering the same!
I was able to VOTE on Saturday but can't seem to register my
vote this morning. What is the secret to being able to vote with this current new system? Please advise ASAP.
Got the spinning dots on my Ipad but my vote went through on my desktop, although with a slight hesitation.
I tend to vote for women who are underrated, but the fact that Jerome didn't like her gives even more wait to my vote.
Hard choice this morning. I chose Melania for her support of monasteries and her choice to leave wealth for a life devoted to God and study of scripture. Her influence seems to have spread a wider net for more levels of society.
Couldn't Melania have waited a few years before her only surviving child had reached his majority before she embarked on founding monasteries? Hilary gets my vote, not only for his teachings but because he was mentor to Martin of Tours, one of my favourite saints.
Hilary for the win!
I went with MELANIA the Elder.
I don't know if I've ever seen someone who is behind within the first hour to pull ahead by day's end, but it reminded me that this is more of learning and fun/madness. Being on the winning side does have a fuzzy feel good, but I had better be happy to have a vote than worry about if my choice of saint advances, or not.
As written, I admire Melania for running her life her way, though a niggle of a thought makes me wonder if what we know of a person's life from so long ago can truly be known. Did she leave with Rufinus of her own accord, I wonder.
I notice St Jerome is referenced in both biographies. Is a duplicated name a first for Lent Madness write ups? Or a sign of good bracket set up with people of the same era combined?
Looking up St Jerome on the Wikipedia, "Jerome was known for his teachings on Christian moral life, especially to those living in cosmopolitan centers such as Rome. In many cases, he focused his attention on the lives of women and identified how a woman devoted to Jesus should live her life."
Someday I should try reading some of his works, if only to get over my knee-jerk negative emotional reaction to this simple statement.
For today, well, two thumbs down for any micromanagers, and a vote for Melania.
I admit to not having read much of Jerome's writings, but I do get the impression from what I've read about him that he was very good at minding other people's business and not so good at minding his own.
Thanks, Betsey, for your insight. I voted Melania. I sorry voting problems made me wade through a lot of messages to get to the discussions.
Hmmm…I voted easily (for Melanie) on the first try. Hang in there, Fellow Voters.
I don't think Rufinus Aquileia (also called Tyrannis Rufinus) has ever been nominated, and I would love to see him in a future Lent Madness. Especially if Jerome is renominated that year and there's a chance they could go toe to toe -- or broadside to broadside in their case.