Małżeństwo drogą doskonalenia chrześcijańskiego na podstawie epistolografii św. Paulina z Noli

According to Paulinus of Nola proper Christian formation is only possible in a community. Of course, he accepted its various forms, from family life, through monasticism to the hermit, but in this case, always remaining in the contact with other hermits. No doubt the example of Paulinus and Theresia had a great impact on the decisions of many aristocratic families who wanted to go in their footsteps. Their determined attitude and brave opposition to the overall criticism from the „world”, added the courage to those who were thinking alike, but so-called „political correctness”, or rather „class correctness”, holding them back. In time, however, the new way of life of spouses-monks was approved and many people began to visit the hermitage in Cimitile, and their way of life has become not only the subject of numerous discussions, but also the spiritual impulse to change many hearts. Therefore, one can talk about their innovative launch of the new forms of Christian perfecting. It would have to serve also to the reform of the Church, which increasingly in the fourth and fifth century began to lose its freshness of evangelical witness and began to undergo a dangerous tendency of overgrowth of administrative structures over her spiritual ministry. Paulin has set a specific program of Christian perfecting, which he lived with his wife Theresia and to which he encouraged his friends. Paulin's correspondence and his view of Christian perfecting through marriage should be read in the appropriate key of his specific ecclesiology, very personal, spiritual and mystical, as it was shown in the above article.