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Il De sacramentis nella Summa Theologiae di Tommaso d’Aquino

Abstract

This article examines the treatise that Thomas Aquinas dedicates to the sac-raments in general in the second part of the Summa Theologiae, which in spite of its brevity has exercised a significant influence in the succeeding centuries, both on the theological reflection and on the magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church. After a concise presentation of the developments of the sacramental theology of the 12 th century, this study focuses in a critical manner on the founding elements of the Thomistic text, comparing it with various interpretations, in the search for the «unthinkable» which the text is capable of unraveling. The conclusion offers some suggestions for going beyond Aquinas, at the same time treasuring some aspects of his often ne-glected reflection.