The subject of the article is the question of the nature of heavenly bodies in St Thomas Aquinas\' approach. The Dominican thinker, using Aristotle\'s cosmology, tries to present his understanding of the Stagirite\'s theory concerning natural indestructibility of heavenly bodies, which he treats as relatively perfect beings built of ether and indestructible in the world of nature, although they are contingent and created by God. The issue proves the Angelic Doctor\'s independence and self-reliance; studying the universe he not only used (...) Aristotle\'s cosmology but he verified it with theological knowledge basing his considerations on the ancient and medieval commentators of the Greek philosopher. In St Thomas\' studies his conviction about relative formal and material perfection of metaphysical components of heavenly bodies is of significant importance. The conception of indestructibility of heavenly bodies also presents methodological assumptions of the metaphysics developed by the Dominican thinker who made the rules of Aristotle\'s philosophy relative. (shrink)

The Earth as Part of the Universe in Saint Thomas Aquinas’ Cosmology (Sum.) . 68 The present article aims at presenting the place the Earth takes in the universe in Saint Thomas Aquinas\' cosmology. The author of the article is of the opinion that Aquinas\' writings, exceeding Aristotle\'s commentary, were a comprehensive attempt at answering the question about the real structure of the universe. In the Dominican scholar\'s methodology a creative aspect can be seen of the critical assessment of the (...) knowledge available in those times. Such an attitude facilitated a further development of cosmology and is the basis of the value of Saint Thomas\' considerations. He still remained within the system of a geocentric world, but he prepared the data for building a new model of the universe. (shrink)