Call for Papers: Reading the Gospel of Matthew with Thomas Aquinas

International Conference, Torun, Poland
23-25 April, 2026

Call for Papers

The Gospel of Matthew holds a privileged place among the other Gospels (according to Ambrose it has “pride of place among the evangelists”) as is testified by its placement in the canon and its role as a bridge between the Old and the New Testament. It also figures as the most annotated, exposited and sermonized Gospel of the four throughout the patristic era, as is evidenced by Thomas Aquinas’ Catena on Matthew.

Among the reasons for this fascination with the first Gospel are certainly the unique details of Christ’s birth to his post-Resurrection appearances, its character as the Gospel of fulfillment, both in terms of it relation to the Old Testament as well as Judaism and the presence of passages unique to Matthew.

Despite the considerable progress in recent decades regarding medieval biblical exegesis in general and Thomas Aquinas’ biblical exegesis in particular, his Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew as well as his use of the Gospel of Matthew has received little attention. Among the reasons for this lacuna is certainly the textual status of Aquinas’ Commentary as well as his Catena on Matthew which has prevented an in depth analysis of the methodology and sources of Aquinas’ commentary.

The conference, organized within the project of “National Programme for Development of Humanities” (NPRH) of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland, intends to develop more in full the progress that recently has been made in these areas and to investigate the central role of the Gospel of Matthew in Aquinas’ own thought.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

* From an historical perspective: Aquinas’ sources and methods within the Commentary; the relation of his sources to the Glossae literature and his own Catena aurea; comparative analyses between Aquinas and (Greek and Latin) Church Fathers on Matthew; comparative analyses between Aquinas and his immediate predecessors and contemporaries (e.g. Albert with regard to the use and influence of the Gospel of Matthew; the use of Matthew in his systematical works, etc.

* From a systematical perspective: philosophical and theological topics; the relevance of Aquinas’ approach within contemporary biblical exegesis; etc.

Papers may be given preferably in English and the presentation should take 20-25 minutes. To submit a proposal, please send an abstract of approximately 300 words (along with your name, academic affiliation and contact information) to piotrroszak@umk.pl by November 30, 2025. Notification of acceptance will be given by December 20, 2025.

The keynote and other main lectures will be given by Serge-Thomas Bonino O.P. (Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome), Anthony Giambrone O.P. (École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem), Timothy Bellamah O.P. (Leonine Commission), Matthew Levering (Mundelein Seminary), Anton Ten Klooster (Thomas Instituut Utrecht) and Mats Walberg (Umea University, Sweden).

Venue of the conference: Faculty of Theology at the Nicolaus Copernicus University, ul. Gagarina 37, 87-100 Torun, Poland & Centre of Dialogue John Paul II, Frelichowskiego 1, 87-100 Torun, Poland.

Organizing committee:
Dr. Piotr Roszak, Dr. Jörgen Vijgen (principal organizers)
Dr. Jan Wołkowski
Dr. Piotr Orłowski
Dr. Marcin Janecki
Dr. Bartosz Adamski

Website: www.akwinata.net

For a PDF of the CFP, click here.