Theologia and Dispensatio: The Centrality of the Divine Missions in St. Thomas’s Trinitarian Theology

The Thomist 74 (2010): 515-61 IHEOLOGIA AND DISPENSATIO: THE CENTRALITY OF THE DIVINE MISSIONS IN ST. THOMAS'S TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY GILLES EMERY, 0.P. University ofFribourg Fribourg, Switzerland IN ST. THOMAS'S Summa Theologiae, the doctrine of the divine missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit is found at the very end of the section dedicated to "what pertains to the distinction of the persons" (STh I, q. 43).1 At first glance, the placement of the question could (wrongly) suggest that the question dealing with the divine missions is just an appendix or an 1 My references to St. Thomas's works are taken from the following editions. Summa Theologiae: Cura et studio Instituti Studiorum Medievalium Ottaviensis, Editio altera emendata, 5 vols. (Ottawa: Harpell, 1941-45). Scriptum on Book I of the Sentences: ed. P. Mandonnet (Paris: Lethielleux, 1929); Scriptum on Book IV of the Sentences, dd. 23-50: Opera omnia, ed. S. E. Frette, vol. 11 (Paris: Louis Vives, 1882). Summa contra Gentiles: ed. P. Marc, C. Pera, et al., 3 vols. (Turin and Rome: Marietti, 1961-67). Contra doctrinam retrahentium a religione: Leonine Edition, vol. 41 C (Rome: Ad Sanctae Sabinae, 1970). Sententia libri Politicorum: Leonine Edition, vol. 48 A (Rome: Ad Sanctae Sabinae, 1971). Compendium Theologiae: Leonine Edition, vol. 42 (Rome: Editori di San Tommaso, 1979). Quaestiones Disputatae De Veritate: Leonine Edition, vol. 22 (Rome, 1975-76). Quaestiones Disputatae De Potentia: ed. P. Bazzi et al. (Turin and Rome: Marietti, 1965). Super evangelium S. Ioannis lectura: ed. R. Cai, 5th ed. (Turin and Rome: Marietti, 1952). Catena aura in quatuor evangelia: 2 vols., ed. A. Guarienti (Turin and Rome: Marietti, 1953). Super Epistolas S. Pauli lectura: ed. R. Cai, 2 vols. (Turin and Rome: Marietti, 1953). In librum beati Dionysii De Divinis Nominibus: ed. C. Pera (Turin and Rome: Marietti, 1950). I also use (with some modifications) the following English translations: Commentary on the Gospel ofJohn, Part I, trans. J. A. Weisheipl and F. R. Larcher (Albany, N.Y.: Magi Books, 1980); Part II, trans. J. A. Weisheipl and F. R. Larcher (Petersham, Mass.: St. Bede's Publications, 1999). Summa Theologiae: LAtin Text and English Translation, ed. T. Gilby and T. C. O'Brien (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode; New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964-73). Summa Theologica, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province, 5 vols. (New York: Benzinger, 1948). 515 516 GILLES EMERY, O.P. afterword in Trinitarian doctrine. In this essay, I will attempt to show that, on the contrary, the divine missions play a crucial role in St. Thomas's Trinitarian theology. After some preliminary clarifications about the "theology" and the "economy" (I), I will show that the relationship between theology and economy can be explained by St. Thomas's teaching on the processions and missions (II). The divine missions are ordained to a twofold end: they reveal the Trinitarian mystery, and they effect salvation by giving a share in the life of the Trinity (III). This teaching implies a Trinitarian understanding of salvation, and it is grounded in the fact that the mystery of the eternal Trinity is present within the economy: for St. Thomas, "theology" is not a theological construct, but it is taught by Scripture itself (IV). On this foundation, I will suggest that Trinitarian theology can be taught following three steps: starting from the economy, the theologian is led to the consideration of the divine persons in their eternal being and relationships, which in turn illuminates the creative and salvific work of the Trinity (V). Finally, I will suggest that St. Thomas's doctrine of the divine missions and processions offers an insightful alternative to the scheme of the "economic Trinity" and the "immanent Trinity" (VI). This essay deals exclusively with St. Thomas Aquinas (except in the last section, which considers some modern authors). Such a focus is by no way meant to suggest that other medieval theologians neglected the role of the divine missions in Trinitarian theology. Most of them shared St. Thomas's acknowledgment of the need for speculative theology, and for linking the missions and the account of the divine persons. However, a comparison with other medieval theologians would go beyond the scope of the...