The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Hilarion of Gaza
c. 291 – c. 371 · Founder of Palestinian monasticism · Gaza → Cyprus
The Nicene Age
Who Hilarion of Gaza was
A Gazan who studied at Alexandria, sought out Anthony in the desert, and then carried the eremitic life home to Palestine, becoming the founder of monasticism there — living in a tiny cell by the sea near Gaza until crowds of disciples and pilgrims drove him, ever seeking solitude, through Egypt, Sicily, Dalmatia, and finally Cyprus, where he died. Jerome’s vivid Life of Hilarion spread his fame across the Latin West and consciously extended the monastic story from Egypt to the wider Mediterranean. The man who planted Anthony’s desert in the Holy Land.
Common questions
When did Hilarion live?
Hilarion of Gaza is dated c. 291 – c. 371 in the archive, which places Hilarion in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Hilarion?
Hilarion of Gaza is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Jerome and Sozomen. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Hilarion from?
The archive associates Hilarion of Gaza with Gaza, Cyprus. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Hilarion’s contemporaries?
The archive links Hilarion of Gaza to 4 other figures, including Anthony the Great, Paul of Thebes, Jerome of Stridon and Hesychius of Majuma. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Life of Hilarion
c. AD 393He was the founder and teacher of this manner of life and zeal in the province of Palestine. Our Lord Jesus had Antony in Egypt older than he; but Hilarion He gave to Palestine and Syria.Jerome · source text
Church History III.14 (the Palestinian memory, beyond Jerome's Life)
c. AD 445Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Hilarion, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.