Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas Angelicum, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Notre Dame Rome Global Gateway, Rome, March 16-18, 2023
On the occasion of the publication of Thomas J. White’s The Trinity: On the Nature and Mystery of the One God, Giulio Maspero organized the conference Trinitarian Ontology? An Ecumenical Issue.
The conference had three locations. On March 16, 2023, the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas – Angelicum. The next day, the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. And the closing day, the University of Notre Dame – Rome Global Gateway.
The conference counted also on the support of Tantur Ecumenical Institute (University of Notre Dame – Jerusalem) and McDonald Agape Foundation.
Serge-Thomas Bonino gave the opening conference, on The Trinity di T.J. White, o.p. Un modello di tomismo vivente. In line with ROR’s relational approach, in the following conferences speakers from distinct Christian denominations presented their reading of T.J. White’s book.
Rowan Williams spoke of Divine simplicity. What does it mean to say that God is One? From this Anglican voice came the view that Aquinas’ discussion of the divine simplicity, at the head of what can be said of divine Unity, opens ways to an understanding of Trinity that establishes the basis of a genuinely relational ontology.
Giulio Maspero presented an Ecumenical Relational Ontology in Dialogue with Thomism, where he followed the path of a Cappadocian reading of Aquinas. Isidoros Katsos was the challenging voice of the Orthodox Church of Greece, whose attentive analysis illustrated how a superficial reading of T.J. White’s The Trinity can drive away Orthodoxy, while a profound and empathetic reading can be an effective bridge builder.
From Genève came Christophe Chalamet, who looked at T.J. White’s work from a precise angle: How does this theology correspond to the Scriptural witness? After him, Marcus Plested cordially shared the impression of the implacable progress of the Thomist machine that he experienced with this new volume of the Thomistic Ressourcement Series, and proceeded with a dialogue between T.J. White’s approach and his own reading from the perspective of Patristic and Byzantine Theology, namely following Gregory Palamas.
The concluding dialogue was introduced by Khaled Anatolios, co-organizer of the conference.
