St Thomas Aquinas was the greatest of the Scholastic philosophers. He produced a comprehensive synthesis of Christian theology and Aristotelian philosophy that influenced Roman Catholic doctrine for centuries and was adopted as the official philosophy of the church in 1917.
St Thomas was a Dominican priest and Scriptural theologian. He took seriously the medieval maxim that “grace perfects and builds on nature; it does not set it aside or destroy it.” Therefore he thought that good Scriptural theology presupposes good philosophical analysis and argumentation. Although Thomas authored works of pure philosophy, most of his philosophizing is found in the context of his doing Scriptural theology. Indeed Thomas engaged in the work of philosophy even in his Biblical commentaries and sermons.
In his lifetime, Thomas’ expert opinion on theological and philosophical topics was sought by many, including at different times a king, a pope, and a countess. As a theologian, Thomas is one of the most important in the history of Western civilization. Thomas is also one of the 10 most influential Western philosophers.