Confessor
Confessor Paulinus, Bishop of Trier
еп. 347 — 358, † 358
Confessor Paulinus, Bishop of Trier — the only Western bishop who refused, at the Councils of Arles and Milan, to sign the condemnation of St. Athanasius the Great, for which he was deposed and exiled to Phrygia, where he died in exile in 358.
CATEGORY REFINEMENT: the statue's image bears a German inscription "ST. PAULINUS BISCHOF VON TRIER 347-358 VERTEIDIGER DES GLAUBENS UND MÄRTYRER" ("defender of the faith and martyr"), which might suggest hieromartyr at first glance. Research showed, however, that "Märtyrer" here is honorific, devotional usage: the bishop died a natural death in exile, not by execution. The Orthodox Encyclopedia and OrthodoxWiki explicitly call him a "confessor" — the category that precisely matches the historical record, not hieromartyr; notably, St. Athanasius the Great himself, in his own writings, also numbered Paulinus among the confessors.
Saint Paulinus of Trier, confessor-bishop, was one of the staunchest defenders of Orthodoxy during the Arian controversies of the 4th century in the Latin West. Born in Aquitania (southwestern Gaul), he was educated at the cathedral school of Poitiers. He accompanied his mentor, St. Maximinus of Trier, to Treveris (modern Trier, Germany) and, upon Maximinus's death in 347, succeeded him as bishop.
Like his teacher, Paulinus consistently defended the Nicene faith and St. Athanasius the Great against the Arians, who enjoyed the protection of Emperor Constantius II. At the Council of Arles (353) and again at the Council of Milan (355), Paulinus was the only Western bishop who refused to sign the condemnation of Athanasius. For this he was deposed and, by imperial order, exiled to Phrygia in Asia Minor, where he died in 358, far from his flock.
In 395 his relics were translated from exile to Trier, where they rest in a church dedicated to him. His feast is kept August 31/September 13.