MATEUSZ PRZANOWSKI OP, The Essence of God and the Kenosis of Incarnation According to St. Thomas Aquinas

SUMMARY

The paper focuses on the following question: does St. Thomas Aquinas consider the kenosis of Logos, which took place in the Incarnation, to somehow reveal the God’s essence (essentia)? To answer this question it is crucial to determine the role that Aquinas ascribes to God’s essence in the act of Incarnation. St. Thomas clearly states that the essence of God, common to all Three Persons of the Trinity, actively takes part in the assumption of human nature and can be fittingly called — though not in the most strict sense of the word — as assuming (assumens) the human nature. Noticing this fact allows us to discern that the act of Incarnation reveals the truth about the divine nature, for example it shows the excellentia of God’s goodness. The second part of the article concerns the issue widely discussed in theology, namely the relation of two natures in Christ. I argue that — contrary to popular opinion — Aquinas’ teaching on the mental relation of the divine and human natures in Christ signifies their inconceivably close and internal reference.