Reading Hebrews with St. Thomas Aquinas

This collection of scholarly essays engages historical, theological, and exegetical dimensions of St. Thomas Aquinas's Commentary on Hebrews, treating such themes as Christ's priesthood, sonship, and knowledge, the angels, grace, the Church as "city," the relationship of the Old and New Testaments, Hebrews' use of the Psalms, Christ's mercy and splendor, and the place of philosophy in Aquinas's commentary. The contributors are notable Thomists and experts in medieval theology, including Serge-Thomas Bonino, O.P., John Boyle, Aaron Canty, Gilles Emery, O.P., Anthony Giambrone, O.P., Franklin T. Harkins, Matthew Levering, Ignacio Manresa, Piotr Roszak, Mary Catherine Sommers, Daria Spezzano, and Joergen Vijgen. These essays belong to an approach that is known as "Biblical Thomism," which pursues the retrieval of Aquinas's biblical commentaries as well as his patristic sources as part of a constructive response to the Second Vatican Council's emphasis on Scripture as being the soul of sacred theology. Since 2005, edited volumes have been appearing on Aquinas's biblical commentaries, including volumes on the Gospel of John, the Letter to the Romans, and the Book of Job. The intention of this newest volume is to make a contribution to the retrieval of Aquinas's Commentary on Hebrews in a manner that is historically sensitive and that indicates theological paths along which Aquinas's ongoing exegetical relevance may be appreciated.