Thomas Aquinas, Disciple of Saint Augustine

Dear Colleagues,

The intellectual and spiritual relationship between Saint Augustine of Hippo (354–430) and Saint Thomas Aquinas (1224/25–1274) represents one of the foundational pillars for understanding the historical development of Christian theology and philosophy. Although separated by nearly nine centuries and formed within profoundly different cultural, linguistic, and methodological contexts, the influence of Augustine on Aquinas is both undeniable and decisive.

This Special Issue of Religions aims to explore, in a systematic and critical manner, the ways in which Thomas Aquinas may be understood as a disciple of Saint Augustine—not in a merely scholastic or derivative sense, but as a creative heir who receives, interprets, reconfigures, and, at times, significantly transforms the Augustinian legacy. Against interpretations that have almost exclusively emphasized Aquinas’s dependence on Aristotle, this Special Issue seeks to rebalance the scholarly landscape by highlighting the constant and structural presence of Augustine’s thought within Thomistic theology, metaphysics, anthropology, ethics, and spirituality.

Augustine is, in fact, the most frequently cited author in Aquinas’s works after Sacred Scripture. The centrality of concepts such as interiority, divine illumination, the primacy of grace, the ordo amoris, the conception of evil as privation, the relationship between faith and reason, and the understanding of time, memory, and salvation history all testify to the profound and ongoing dialogue that Aquinas maintains with the Bishop of Hippo.

By focusing on Thomas Aquinas as a disciple of Augustine, this Special Issue invites contributors to reconsider Aquinas’s intellectual identity from an Augustinian perspective. Such an approach reveals both continuity and originality, showing how Aquinas integrates multiple sources within a living tradition rather than merely reproducing inherited doctrines. Studying Aquinas through an Augustinian lens thus allows for a richer understanding of medieval Christian thought and its enduring relevance for contemporary philosophical, theological, and religious studies.

Aims and Scope of the Special Issue

The primary aims of this Special Issue are as follows:

• To analyze the explicit and implicit reception of Augustine’s thought in the works of Thomas Aquinas.
• To examine points of convergence and divergence between Augustine and Aquinas on theological, philosophical, and spiritual questions.
• To explore how Aquinas interprets Augustine within his own intellectual context, particularly in dialogue with Aristotelian philosophy.
• To contribute to a more nuanced understanding of medieval Christian tradition as a space of creative engagement among authoritative voices.
• To offer fresh perspectives on the contemporary relevance of the Augustinian–Thomistic legacy.

Suggested Topics (Non-Exhaustive List)

Contributors are invited to submit original papers addressing, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Saint Augustine as a theological authority in the Summa Theologiae;
• Aquinas’s Augustinianism in relation to Aristotelian philosophy;
• The doctrine of grace in Augustine and Aquinas;
• Interiority, knowledge, and truth: Augustinian illumination and Thomistic epistemology;
• The concept of God: essence, existence, and divine attributes;
• The problem of evil and the privation of good;
• The ordo amoris and the ethics of charity;
• Theological anthropology: soul, body, and personhood;
• Freedom, will, and sin;
• Faith and reason;
• Time, eternity, and creation;
• Christology and soteriology in an Augustinian–Thomistic perspective;
• Ecclesiology, sacraments, and spiritual life;
• Augustine’s influence on Aquinas’s biblical commentaries;
• Medieval and modern receptions of the “Augustinian” Aquinas.

Types of Contributions

This Special Issue welcomes

• Original research articles;
• Historical and doctrinal studies;
• Comparative analyses;
• Interdisciplinary approaches (philosophy, theology, history, religious studies).

All submissions will undergo a double-blind peer-review process in accordance with the editorial standard

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. María Rosario Neuman Lorenzini
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Saint Thomas
• Saint Augustine
• metaphysics
• theology
• theory of knowledge