History

Mission Statement

The Aquinas Center of Theology at Emory University provides a Catholic scholarly presence, ecumenical in spirit, for the benefit of Emory University, the Archdiocese and the region. It assists inquiring persons to enhance their knowledge of the living Catholic tradition and to engage in the intellectual and moral life of the church.

Foundation and aims

The Aquinas Center traces its origins to 1984, when the Dominicans of the Southern Province  established a residential study center for novices near Emory University. In 1987, the Center adopted its present name and moved toward a closer relationship with Emory. The Center acquired its own endowment at the same time.

The Aquinas Center is now an affiliate of Emory University and is governed by a Board of Directors. It values its historical connection to the Dominican Order and it gives an intentional respect to Thomas Aquinas and his contributions to theology, philosophy, ethics and education, although the Center's work is in no way exclusively Thomistic.  Four Dominicans serve on the Board, the Center's visiting professors are usually Dominicans,  the Center has had an informal association with Blackfriars, Oxford, and it maintains a lending library of Dominican sources.  

While the Center's primary arena is Emory University, it also serves the region through public conferences and continuing education events. The Center has run a successful continuing education program designed to provide advanced scholarship to the Catholic laity of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.  It  sponsors speakers for the Catholic Businesspersons'  Luncheon series as an outreach to the Atlanta business community and  helped establish a local Merton Chapter of The International Thomas Merton Society.

Among the Center's other activities are symposia, conferences, days of reflection, workshops, lectures and publications. There are four series of annual lectures: the Aquinas Lecture (in any field of Catholic Studies), the Aquinas Lecture in Philosophy (cosponsored with the Emory Department of Philosophy), the Aquinas Lecture in Spirituality (on an aspect of Christian spirituality) and the Aquinas Social Justice Lecture. The Center publishes a series of Occasional Papers on Catholic Intellectual Life.

The  Emory Connection

Originally Methodist in foundation, Emory University  is now  largely a  non-denominational research institution, rich in resources and reputation.    There are three chief settings for the study of religion at the University: the Candler School of Theology (an official seminary of the United Methodist Church), the Department of Religion in Emory College serving undergraduates, and the Graduate Division of Religion which prepares graduate students.  The Center works collaboratively with the departments of religion and philosophy and the Theology School and expects to make a contribution to the University's strategic initiatives related to the theme of religion and the human spirit.     

There are a substantial number of undergraduates who declare their religious affiliation as Catholic.   To serve their needs a new Catholic Studies Minor has been established.  In a series of courses the Minor explores the rich intellectual and cultural traditions of the Roman Catholic Church during the past two millennia and their impact on western thought. The approach is entirely secular, driven by the same spirit of independent scholarly inquiry Emory faculty have brought to the study of other religions and faith traditions.  The minor consist of five courses and will be augmented by visiting speakers and informal student discussion groups during the year.  The Catholic Studies Minor is the only such program within a non-Catholic university in the country.

The University trains both graduate and seminary students  through its graduate programs and the Candler School of Theology.  The Center supports graduate education by annually appointing a student in Catholic Studies as the Aquinas Graduate Fellow.

The Center has permanently endowed two professorships:  The Thomas Aquinas Professor of Historical Theology, currently held by  Prof. Philip L. Reynolds,   and a visiting Dominican scholar.  Over the years the following visiting faculty has been sponsored by the Center:

Mary Catherine Hilkert (University of Notre Dame); Claude J. Geffre (L'Institut Catholique de Paris); Brian Davies (Fordham University); Timothy McDermott (University of Cape Town) Benedict Viviano (Univeristy of Freibourg); Philip A. Kennedy (University of Oxford); Richard J. Woods (Blackfriars Hall, Oxford), Paul J. Philibert (Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis); Mark E. Wedig (Barry University) Brian J. Shanley (Catholic University of America); Richard Schenk (Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley); Mary Margaret Pazdan (Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis); Barbara Reid (Catholic Theological Union, Chicago); Barbara Green (Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley);  John Allard (Providence College). 

The work of the Center is guided by its Board and input from Associated Emory faculty and Affiliated Faculty from other institutions  who advise the Director. 

Pitts Theology Library of the Candler School  is the second largest Theological library in the United States.   It  has major holdings in several areas of Catholic Studies, including special collections in English recusants, Cardinal Newman, Cardinal Manning and Thomas Merton. The Center works collaboratively with Pitts to co-sponsor events.

Relations with other institutions

The Aquinas Center is distinct from Emory's Catholic Center.  In principle, the Aquinas Center is concerned with academic study and the intellectual life, while the Catholic Center,  which is maintained by the Archdiocese, has responsibility for the sacramental and pastoral needs of Catholics at Emory  and provides a focus for social activity. Nevertheless, the respective programs of the two centers sometimes overlap, and the personnel of both work toward close collaboration.

In the past the Center has supported the  The Merton Annual:   Studies in Spirituality, Culture and Social Concerns, the local chapter of the International Thomas Merton Society, and The Catholic Scholars Guild of North Georgia.

A Unique Institution

As an academic center for Catholic Studies within a major research university, The Aquinas Center of Theology is unique. Its mission to deepen Catholic  intellectual life at Emory and to reach out to the larger Catholic community in the burgeoning Archdiocese of Atlanta is one of  great potential.   It is advantaged by both its independence and its positive affiliations with both the University and the Archdiocese.   

"A truly great intellect..is one which takes a connected view of old and new, past and present, far and near, and which has an insight into the influence of all these things one on another, without which there is no whole and no centre."

-John Henry Newman