Šiame straipsnyje aptariamas dviejų sąvokų - tobulumo ir šventumo, t. y. pašvenčiamosios malonės gyvinamo tobulumo, - ryšys. Abi sąvokos labai senos, jos visuomet siejamos su religija. Šventumo sąvoka buvo vartojama jau senovės Romoje, Senajame ir Naujajame Testamentuose. Bažnyčia šventumą suvokia kaip Kristaus liudijimą paaukojant savo gyvenimą dėl Jo (kankiniai) arba praktikuojant didvyriškas dorybes (išpažinėjai). Istorijos tėkmėje smarkiai kito šventumo išraiškos formos ir jo siekimo būdai. Šiuolaikinė šventumo samprata, aptarta Vatikano II Susirinkimo, atskleidžia jo visuotinumą (visuotinis pašaukimas į šventumą), bažnytinę ir eschatologinę plotmes. Šventumas taip pat turi ekumeninį ir bendruomeninį matmenį (šventųjų bendravimas). Nors Šventumas yra vienas, bet keliai į jį - skirtingi.

St. Francis of Assisi was a personage who, according to the eminent Lithuanian philosopher, Antanas Maceina, understood the purpose of a human life as a calling to glorify God with one’s entire being. The world view of the holy man from Assisi was, in the true sense of the word, holistic: in one sense, embracing the human being, God and nature and, in another, awakening all internal human powers to “sing” the wondrous and incessant hymn of life. Maceina wrote “Saulės giesmė” (“The Canticle of the Sun”) attempting to give the analysis of the philosophy of St. Francis’ life. Although Maceina used quite a lot of biographical data in his comprehensive monograph on Francis, he did not limit himself to factual material. He attempted to perceive the deep motives in the be-havior of a holy man. The phenomenon of the saints holds an important place in Christianity. Catholic and Orthodox Christianity are unimaginable without the esteem of the saints, the importance of their life examples, the studies of their scriptures and the practice of their daily intercession. It is paradoxical that, despite of the attention the saints receive in the official as well as private life of the Church, it is not an easy task to define the notion of a saint. In the first place, it would appear that a saint could be described as a person of greater than usual good-ness. However, a saint is not simply a very “good” or a very devoted person but also a very mysterious person. Antanas Maceina accurately notices that holiness manifests as virtues but it is not compiled of virtues. Holiness contains all virtues; however, it also contains something that provides it with a new quality of essence. In theo-logy it is called a heroic virtue. In real life, a saint often appears not only as a mysterious but also an unpredictablepersona. Rather frequently he/she undertakes actions which are unusual, novel and unexpected. [...]