The Religions Book

229

See also: Beliefs for new societies 56–57 ■ Entering into the faith 224–27 ■ The Protestant Reformation 230–37

CHRISTIANITY

on the recently rediscovered
philosophy of Aristotle to clarify
previous teaching about the
Eucharist. Aquinas’s teaching
became the official doctrine of
the Roman Catholic Church.
The purpose of Aquinas’s
teaching was to explain how the
real presence of Jesus could be
found in the elements of bread and

wine. This was important because

Christians believe that the Eucharist

is a sacrament, a sacred act that is

thought to embody a religious truth

(p.226). If Jesus were not present

when the bread and wine were

shared, the sacrament would lose

its meaning and significance.

When is bread not bread?

According to Aristotle, substance

is the unique identity of an object

or person—the “tableness” of

a table, for example. Accidents

are the attributes of the substance,

and can change without its identity

altering—a table might be wooden,

and blue, but if it was metal and

pink it would still be a table.

For Aquinas, this meant that

it was possible for the substance

or essence of an object or person

(such as Jesus) to be found in the

accidents or attributes of other

objects (such as bread and wine).

He said that it was also possible

for one object to be converted into

another object: so, as the priest

prayed over the bread and the wine,

the substance of bread and wine

was converted into that of the

body and blood of Jesus (hence

the term transubstantiation—

“to change from one substance to

another”). However, the accidents

or attributes of the bread and wine

remained, so the real presence of

Jesus in bread and wine was to be

believed, but not physically seen. ■

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas is acclaimed as

the greatest theologian in the

medieval scholastic movement,

which was characterized by a

new method of contemplating the

Christian faith in an academically

rigorous way. Aquinas was born

to a noble family in Roccasecca

near Naples in 1225. While at the

university in Naples, Aquinas

joined the recently established

Order of Preachers (later known

as the Dominican Friars). He

continued his studies in Paris and

Cologne, subsequently becoming

a highly regarded teacher in the

Catholic Church. His major

contribution to Christianity

was his use of Greek philosophy,

notably the work of Aristotle,

to explain and defend Christian

theology. Known as “Thomism,”

his system of theology became

the standard within Catholic

thinking for centuries. Aquinas

died at the age of 49 in 1274,

while he was traveling to the

ecumenical Council of Lyon.

Key works

c.1260 Summa contra Gentiles

c.1265–74 Summa Theologica

(Sum of Theology)

Holy Communion is fundamental to

the faith of nearly all Christians. Roman

Catholic and Orthodox Christians

believe in transubstantiation; others

see it more as a symbolic act.

The presence of Christ’s

true body and blood in this

sacrament cannot be

detected by sense, nor

understanding, but by

faith alone.

Thomas Aquinas