A Primary Study On "The Conception Of Angels" In Veritable Records Of Holy Catholicism

This thesis mainly talks about "the conception of angels" in the chapter of "Angels and Adam",of Veritable Records of Holy Catholicism written by Michele Ruggieri(1543-1607),an Italian Jesuit missionary.As the first apologetic document and dogmatic outline written by a western missionary,Veritable Records of Holy Catholicism showed the Chinese people "the conception of angels" of Roman Catholicism for the first time.Michele Ruggieri's interpretation and description of "the conception of angels" of Roman Catholicism plays a fundamental and important role in the theory of "the conception of angels" of Roman Catholicism to all posterity.Bible and the Summa Theologiae were to be the main sources of formation for the young Jesuit seminarians at the end of the XVI century.As the "Doctor of Angels",Thomas Aquinas's theological theories including his "conception of angels" are the fundamental theory of orthodox Catholic theology,especially after the Reformation,Aquinas's theological theories become an important ideological weapon for the Jesuits to protect Catholic traditional theology and fight against Reformation,meanwhile,it is also a theoretical fixed pivot for the Jesuits' 'recatholization'.As a member of the Jesuits,Michele Ruggieri received the Jesuit systematic training on theology and philosophy at an early age,his theological thoughts and theories are basically established on the orthodox Catholic theology of the middle ages represented by Thomas Aquinas,and his "conception of angels" is of no exception.This thesis makes a comparative research on "the conception of angels" between Michele Ruggieri's Veritable Records of Holy Catholicism and Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae on the basis of poring over these two books.This thesis combines Michele Ruggieri's "conception of angels" with the corresponding discussion about "the conception of angels" in Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae according to "the conception of angels"shaped in Michele Ruggieri's Veritable Records of Holy Catholicism from the aspects of ontology,relationship,and epistemology,so that to analyze and comb the scholastic origin of Michele Ruggieri's "conception of angels" and his succession and development of "the conception of angels" of the official Roman Catholic theology and to have a more concrete and objective knowledge and understanding of Michele Ruggieri's "conception of angels",and give an objective judgement on the effects and value of his introduction of "the conception of angels" of Roman Catholicism to the Chinese culture.