Janet Sidaway: Hilary of Poitiers and Phoebadius of Agen: who influenced whom?

Hilary of Poitiers and Phoebadius of Agen were near contemporaries. Both were involved  in Gaul’s  opposition to “Arianism” , both contributed to the wider  theological debate by their  polemical writing,  and  both  were  present at the  two councils convened by Constantius in 359 in an attempt to formulate an agreed creed: Phoebadius at Rimini, Hilary at Seleucia. The similarities in their theological arguments in 358 have been noted from Feder onwards, although opinions vary on who influenced whom.

Despite the conflicting views, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the actual relationship between Hilary and Phoebadius. The paper argues that some overlap would have been likely anyway, given a shared Western inheritance, and probably similar educational background. Comparing Phoebadius’ Contra Arrianos with Hilary’s earlier books does however suggest an interdependence of ideas, most likely consolidated through their correspondence when Hilary was in exile in Phrygia. But what happened afterwards? If  Hilary had moved away from an homoousian to an homoiousian Christology under the influence of Basil of Ancyra,  as has been  argued recently, how would this have influenced Hilary’s subsequent relationship with  Phoebadius  and the latter’s position at Rimini and later councils which he attended or chaired?

The paper explores this relationship not through the usually cited De Trinitate but by  discussing the Christology  of Hilary’s other works, in particular the  polemical  In Constantium and Contra Auxentium, and suggests that Hilary’s Christology remained closer to  Phoebadius than is often alleged.