This class will help participants explore the teaching of one of the Church’s greatest theologians, St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274).  Reading will focus on selections from St. Thomas’ Summa Theologiae which have particular significance for the Church right now.  The Summa Theologiae is an intricate blend of Scripture, doctrine, spiritual teaching, and moral guidance.  For St. Thomas, the Christian life consists of certain intellectual, spiritual, and moral virtues which must all be held and practiced together.  While the Summa Theologiae is formidable in bulk and depth, we want to remember that the “beginners” for whom it was written were members of the Dominican order, priests who specialized in preaching, hearing confessions, teaching, and giving spiritual direction.  Each class session will focus on a major theme and its spiritual significance for us today:

This class will be taught by the The Rev'd Canon Dr. Michael Petty

May 7: The Strangeness of God: Christian Spirituality Begins with the Truth about God

May 14: The Strange Creature Called Human: The Spiritual Creature with a Physical Body

May 21: Why the Moral Life and the Spiritual Life are Organically Connected

May 28: Christ and the Eucharist: Christian Spirituality as Union with Christ

In this class we will explore the significance of Christian tradition and spirituality and how Calvin's theology can help form a deeper biblical understanding of what it means to be truly spiritual. His theology is above all practical and he wrote that doctrine is not understood by the intellect and memory only, "but is received only when it possesses the whole soul, and finds its seeds and [application] in the inmost recesses of the heart." J.I. Packer said John Calvin was the most influential man in the world during his day. And Alistair McGrath wrote, "...it is impossible to understand modern Protestantism without coming to terms with John Calvin's legacy to the movement which he did so much to nourish and sustain." That movement was the Reformation and its driving force was to lead the Church back to its roots in God’s word and a rich spirituality. For Calvin, the essence of right living was spiritual.  Calvin was well acquainted with the cost of discipleship. The distress of exile, the burden of poverty, the hurt of slander and misrepresentation, the threat of physical harm, were all things he knew first hand, and his view of Christian spirituality as a result is seen in his understanding and exposition of living the Christian life. His theology produced the Puritans in England, the Huguenots in France, the ‘Beggars' in Holland, the Covenanters in Scotland, and the Pilgrim Fathers of New England, and more. I invite you to join me in looking at this remarkable and godly man from whom we can learn a great deal.

This class will be taught by the Rev’d. Dr. Jeff Trostle.

When: Wednesdays, 6–8:00 pm | May 7, 14. 21, and 28

Location: St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral