Correspondence between St. Paulinus and St. Augustine: Historiography of the Issue
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52575/2687-0967-2025-52-3-592-598Keywords:
ethos, clergy, bishops, letter collections, Late AntiquityAbstract
Letter collections of Late Antique Christian apologists are important sources reflecting their views and attitudes to contemporary events. For this reason, they have repeatedly become the subject of research by historians. The purpose of this study is to analyze a number of works directly devoted to the correspondence between Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, and Paulinus, Bishop of Nola. Interest in this topic has not faded over a long period. Such attention is connected with the controversial aspects of communication between the two Christians, associated with determining the relationship between the "classical" and "Christian" understanding of friendship in their letters. Scholars discuss the significance of the contribution of both Late Antique epistolographers to the dissemination and affirmation of Christian thought and way of life; the mutual influence of these representatives of the "golden age of patristics", and their epistolary roles. In terms of the first aspect, degrees of preservation of the “classical” friendship model are discussed. Researchers are mostly inclined to assess their friendly ties through the prism of Christian love ("caritas"). As for the other issues identified, historians hold similar views, differing in their assessment of the epistolary roles of Augustine and Paulinus, so this issue remains open in historiography.
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