Abra of Poitiers explained

Honorific Prefix:	Saint
Abra
Birth Date:	12 December 339
Death Date:	360
Feast Day:	12 December
Venerated In:	Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church
Titles:	Virgin
Beatified Date:	Pre-congregation

Abra of Poitiers (c. 343 – c. 360), Afra or Apra is a Christian saint who would have lived in the 4th century.^[1]

Her existence is historically uncertain, but she would have been the daughter of Hilary of Poitiers.

Biography

Hilary of Poitiers was married; however, the existence of Abra is uncertain,^[2] as it is attested by hagiographical accounts that date two centuries after the life of Hilary. In particular, a letter that Hilary is said to have sent to her is considered a medieval forgery.^[3] In this letter, he expressed concern about her fate and engaged in a conversation with her about the health of his mother.^[4]

In the surviving manuscripts containing pseudonymous hymns of Hilary, she is named Abra, Afra, or Apra.^[5]

She would have died shortly after his return in 360, supposedly at the age of seventeen or eighteen.^[6] According to medieval legendary accounts, her father would have witnessed her death.^[7]

Her existence itself is controversial; some scholars argue that she may not be the daughter of Hilary of Poitiers or that she may never have existed.^[8]

She is remembered for her work among the poor and spreading of Christianity in the area around Poitiers, France.^[9]

Her feast day is celebrated on 12 December in Poitiers.

Legacy

Literature

She was compared to the biblical figure of Sarah by some medieval authors.^[10]

Montaigne mentioned the event of her death, which he knew through medieval sources, to apply the situation to his own time.

Notes and References

1. [Frederick George Holweck|Holweck, F. G.]
2. Bardy . Gustave . 1941 . Un humaniste chrétien : saint Hilaire de Poitiers . Revue d'histoire de l'Église de France . 27 . 111 . 5–25 . 10.3406/rhef.1941.2911 . 2024-01-20 . 2024-01-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240114065204/https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhef_0300-9505_1941_num_27_111_2911 . live .
3. Book: Image, Isabella . The Human Condition in Hilary of Poitiers: The Will and Original Sin between Origen and Augustine . 2017-07-25 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-252934-3 . en.
4. Book: Cazenove, John Gibson . St. Hilary of Poitiers and St. Martin of Tours . 1883 . SPCK . en . 2024-01-20 . 2024-01-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240120115741/https://books.google.fr/books?id=wrcCAAAAQAAJ . live .
5. Walpole . A. S. . 1905 . Hymns Attributed to Hilary of Poitiers . The Journal of Theological Studies . 6 . 24 . 599–603 . 10.1093/jts/os-VI.24.599 . 23947062 . 0022-5185 . 2024-01-20 . 2024-01-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240120115838/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23947062 . live .
6. Web site: Saint Abra. thesacredheart.com. 2023-05-13. 2019-08-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20190826015655/http://www.thesacredheart.com/sts/sabra.htm. live.
7. Polachek . Dora E. . 2006 . Of Fathers, Saints, and Dying Virgins: The Crisis of Exemplarity in "De fuir les voluptez au pris de la vie" (I, 33) . L'Esprit Créateur . 46 . 1 . 64–74 . 26289240 . 0014-0767 . 2024-01-20 . 2024-01-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240120115742/https://www.jstor.org/stable/26289240 . live .
8. The Certainty of Faith in God's Word: The Theological Method and Structure of Hilary of Poitiers' De Trinitate . University Of Notre Dame . 2004-06-04 . 10.7274/c821gh95k8c . Carl Laurence . Beckwith . 2024-01-20 . 2022-09-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220926025319/https://curate.nd.edu/show/c821gh95k8c . live .
9. Web site: Hilary of Poitiers . 2015-10-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160513095620/http://pflaum.com/pdfs_jan_12/saints_hilary.pdf . 2016-05-13 . dead .
10. Gussen . P. J. G. . 1956 . Hilaire de Poitiers, Tractatus Mysteriorum I, 15-19 . Vigiliae Christianae . 10 . 1 . 14–24 . 10.2307/1582174 . 1582174 . 0042-6032 . 2024-01-20 . 2024-01-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240120115833/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1582174 . live .