Aquinas cites Augustine the most of all at 3,156 times. Read the Summa, and one begins to realize that Aquinas is in constant dialogue with the Fathers, organizing, explaining, and sometimes charitably correcting them.Ī search through a PDF of the whole text reveals just how enmeshed Aquinas’ thought is with theirs. This is readily apparent in his most famous work, the Summa Theologica. And in the eyes of many Protestants, Aquinas is more Catholic than the Fathers.īut anyone who has spent real time with the writings of Aquinas knows how deeply indebted he is to the Fathers. (This too is overstated, but that’s another story.) Aquinas produced a systematic theology whose stiffness and rationalism can seem a world away from the brilliant streams of consciousness that poured out from the pens of the Fathers. Augustine, are thought of as Neoplatonists. The Fathers, on the other hand, especially St. Thomas Aquinas and the Church Fathers.Īquinas is indelibly associated with Aristotle. It is tempting to overstate the differences between St.
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