02/08/2018 Which Church Fathers Most Influenced St. Thomas Aquinas? (Part 2)
The Summa Theologica is one of our best windows into the world of the Church Fathers Summa Theologiae
www.newadvent.org/summa/Stephen Beale
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/sbeale/which-church-fathers-most-influenced-st.-thomas-aquinas A search through a PDF of the whole text reveals just how enmeshed Aquinas’ thought is with theirs.
Aquinas cites Augustine the most of all at 3,156 times. That’s even more than Aristotle, who garners a total of 2,095 mentions—including references by name and by title, as ‘the philosopher.’
Not counting the supplement, the Summa has a total of 521 questions, meaning that Aquinas turns to Augustine as an authoritative guide on average six times for each question.
Hardly any topic is broached that does not in some way bear the influence of Augustine.
Today, Augustine looms as large as ever for us.
We owe our understanding of the doctrines of the Trinity, grace, and original sin to him.
Augustine’s account of personal conversion, in The Confessions, his understanding of the role of the church in history, in The City of God, and his commitment to the authority and inerrancy of Scripture have left a lasting impression on Western Christianity.
1. The Confessions
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1101.htm 2. The City of God
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1201.htm Aquinas both reflects and reinforces Augustine’s enduring authority.
But Aquinas’ engagement with the Fathers extends well beyond Augustine.
Here are the Fathers he cites most often after him.
Each number represents number of times cited by name in the Summa:
1 Gregory the Great — 761
2 Dionysius —607
3 Jerome —377
4 Damascene —367
5 John Chrysostom —309
6 Ambrose —284
7 Isidore —162
8 Origen —84
9 Basil —56
10 Gregory of Nyssa —53
11 Athanasius —45
12 Cyril —28
The list is both expected and surprising.
It makes sense that St. Gregory the Great, as a Latin Father, would figure prominently in the Summa.
The same goes for St. Ambrose, the teacher of Augustine, and St. Jerome, the translator of the Vulgate.
It is impressive to see the Greek Fathers well-represented, particularly St. Basil the Great, and St. Gregory of Nyssa.
But then there are the surprises.
Dionysius, better known today as Pseudo-Dionysius, is not a Church Father well-known even to many Catholics who read up on their theology.
But he is nonetheless an immensely important writer in the patristic era.
His work on The Celestial Hierarchy is both a formal theology of the angels and also an extraordinarily rich devotional work.
The Celestial Hierarchy. Dionysius the Areopagite
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/VolumeII/CelestialHierarchy.html The Divine Names is a classic work of apophatic theology.
Dionysius the Areopagite, Works (1897) pp.1-127. The Divine Names.
www.tertullian.org/fathers/areopagite_03_divine_names.htm Aquinas draws upon Dionysius in his treatment of biblical metaphors and typology, the infinity and ineffability of God, and the nature of the good, among others.
Another surprise is the Damascene, or St. John of Damascus.
This is another Church Father who is not as familiar to us today.
St. John lived from 676 to as late as 787 and is known as the ‘last of the Greek Fathers.’
One of his most significant works is the Fountain of Wisdom, which The Catholic Encyclopedia describes as “the first attempt at a summa theologica that has come down to us.”
St. John Damascene
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08459b.htm The third part of this treatise is better known to us today as The Exposition of the Orthodox Faith.
An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers.
www.newadvent.org/fathers/3304.htm As with Dionysius, Aquinas mines St. John’s writings for insights on what we can and cannot know about God, the divine attributes, and the three persons of the Trinity and a range of other topics, encompassing the Eucharist, death, and the general resurrection.
Probably the least known on the list is St. Isidore of Seville, a Father who lived in present-day Spain, from 560 to 636.
St. Isidore of Seville
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08186a.htm His works include the Etymologies, which is often described as a sort of encyclopedia of not only theology but also a survey of natural knowledge, including math, astronomy, and medicine.
The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville
https://sfponline.org/Uploads/2002/st%20isidore%20in%20english.pdf He also produced a book of sentences—a series of questions or propositions about theology, a style that was to become quite popular in the Middle Ages.
Isidore of Seville Sententiae, Quod Deus summus et incommutabilis sit (“That God is the highest and immutable” “What is the highest good (summum bonum)?”
https://calvinistinternational.com/2016/01/15/isidore-sententiae-1-1-1/ Aquinas pulls in a wide variety of citations from Isidore—everything from the nature of angels and demons and the sacraments to facts from astronomy and biology.
Today, perhaps more so than before Vatican II, we read and study the Fathers directly—and we should.
But even here Aquinas has a lot to teach us about how to read the Fathers.
And through Aquinas we may even meet Fathers who we otherwise would have overlooked.
Rather than obscuring them, Aquinas amplifies the importance of the Fathers for us today.
And the Summa is one of our best windows into their world.