Thomas
This great Dominican theologian and philosopher was born in the year 1225 and after 49 years of intensive study and writing he was called to rest by the Lord in the year 1274. He was born in Aquino close to the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino in central Italy where he had his early education. Later he was sent for studies to Naples where he was exposed to the writings of the Greek P
hilosopher Aristotle. He decided to be a Dominican instead of being a Benedictine by entering the Priory of San Domenico in Naples. Dominicans were a new congregation and considered to be too progressive. This attitude within the church brought Thomas Aquinas a lot of problems and he was condemned later on by the church. He was sent for further studies to Cologne and worked under St. Albert the Great (1200-1280). Albert impressed by Aquinas urged that Thomas should be sent to Paris in one of the then famous universities. In Paris his writings were considered unorthodox. His writing includes disputed question on truth and controversial matters, biblical commentaries, a series of commentaries on Aristotle and two enormous treatises covering the whole range of Christian doctrine and its philosophical significance. After all his writings he said that he learnt all that at the foot of the cross. On the 7th of March 1274 he died. Although he was condemned in Paris and Oxford, Pope John XXII canonized Aquinas in 1323 and declared him a Doctor of the Church. There is no philosopher or theologian who has made a greater contribution to Christian thought than Thomas Aquinas. We are fortunate to have such an intellectual giant and a holy priest as our Patron Saint. There are many institutions in the world after his name. Let this humble and hard-working intellectual be our light. AQUINAS IN BRIEF
Aquinas College of Higher Studies was established by the late Very Rev.Fr.Peter A.Pillai, in 1954 with the inspiration, blessing and assistance of His Eminence the late Thomas Cardinal Cooray. Rev.Fr.Peter was an internationally reputed scholar, educationist, social worker and a member of the University Senate at that time. Aquinas College is registered with the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission of Sri Lanka to conduct courses and examinations at the tertiary level. The College is also affiliated to the International Federation of Catholic Universities in Paris. Aquinas Holds a pre-eminent position in the socio-economic life of the country. Aquinas College is situated in a parkland in Borella, located in the center of the city of Colombo. The campus provides a very healthy and a peaceful environment conducive to educational actives. The presence of students from many diverse backgrounds and nationalities provides a very cosmopolitan community, creating an exposure to numerous cultures as we have students from SAARC countries and various ethnic groups. Aquinas is proud to have a considerable number of Buddhist monks and students from all religions and ethnic communities among its student population of over eight thousand. It offers a wide range of full time and part time certificates, diploma and degree courses. We are proud to say that we have among our past students over 640 London Graduates and a number of local University graduates who have done their external degrees from Aquinas College. Most of the students, who have gone through Aquinas, have left footprints in prestigious national and international professional centers to acclaim highest standards in a vast spectrum in almost all fields. We recommenced the external degree programmes of the University of London and also the Executive Development programmes under the brand name Aquinas South Asian Regional Institute of Management.(ASARIM). In 2004 we were awarded the status of a Degree Awarding Institute by the University Grants Commission. Our sincere thanks to the authorities and all who helped us in many ways to bring Aquinas to this position.
