Sacraments According to St. Thomas Aquinas

Saint Thomas Aquinas (c.1225-1274) was an Italian theologian, one of the foremost Christian philosophers of the Middle Ages. His Summa Theologica (c.1266-1273) was a provincial document of scholastic philosophy. Summa Theologica explored all facets of medieval life, philosophy and theology, political theory, and morality1. The medieval church had a particular interest in the sacraments because they manifest salvation to an individual in a tangible form and tied the individual to the church2. Specifically, …

…Ages30 and became a system to reassure those who believed in the faith, and to establish the church as a quintessential intermediary between God and man31. The Medieval church was a perpetuator of the feudal system in Europe. By means of sacrament, the church was able to localize people so that they may retain privileges of salvation. Furthermore, by controlling the sacramental action, the church insured its stability in an age of reform and revolution.