Nauka św. Grzegorza Wielkiego o kontemplacji i jej wpływ na doktrynę mistyczną św. Tomasza z Akwinu

Abstract

St. Gregory the Great is one of the most frequently quoted Church Fathers in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. In the texts referring to mystical cognition St. Gregory’s thought appears very explicitly, although with different intensity. Frequent and direct quotes from St. Gregory by all means reveal his importance as a source which St. Thomas willingly used in his reflection about mystical cognition. In the first part of this paper several important points of St. Gregory’s teaching on contemplative life were synthetically presented. St. Thomas incorporated them, to a different extent, into his mystical doctrine. In the further part of this paper the Author presents the issues connected with the vision of God’s essence during our earthly life and conditions of such a vision. At this point some essential differences between the two authors can be noticed.