Translation of: “grace” in” Summa theologiae” by Thomas Aquinas With an analytical introduction

The doctrine of grace is the link between basic concepts in Christianity. Paul is the first one who used the term “grace” in theological context: in his view, grace is the main factor in salvation. One can understand that Paul holds that grace represents aspects of God’s kindly acts which brings about salvation for those who do not really merit it. After Paul, this concept was developed by Church Fathers. Among them Augustine had a prominent role; so that he is called “Doctor of Grace”. His debates with the opponents of common perception of grace are among the important challenges of church history. The Catholic perception of grace almost was fixed After Augustine; but in Scholastic period, a new version of this doctrine was formed. Tomas Aquinas, a prominent philosopher and theologian in Middle Ages, thought that the Christian concepts can be based on the Aristotelian rationality. In his works, he ventures to express a version, which was purely Aristotelian holding both Father’s emphasis on grace and the importance of man’s mind. In Summa theologiae, which is the last and most important work of ST Thomas, he describes his views more than his other works. In Summa theologiae he say that grace is a divine gift that God infused it into essence of soul, by infusing this gift the powers of soul go beyond natural abilities and are capable of realizing eternal life for man; that is, the ultimate goal of man. Thomas believes that without the gift of grace nobody can achieve eternal life.