This year’s feast of St. Albert the Great, November 15, was the occasion of Fr. Augustine Thompson’s official “inception” as Master of Sacred Theology (Sacrae Theologiae Magister, or S.T.M.). Fr. Augustine is a member of the Western Dominican Province and a DSPT alum. He received his doctorate in medieval history from the University of California, Berkeley and is currently a professor of religious studies and history at the University of Virginia. His specialty is lay and religious spirituality in thirteenth-century Italy.
The S.T.M., the highest academic honor awarded by the Dominican Order, has evolved from the final degree of theological studies at the medieval university to a largely honorary degree today. It presupposes at least ten years of active teaching and a record of recognized publication. It is granted by the Master of the Dominican Order and his curia in Rome in consultation with other scholars of the Dominican Order. As a Church historian, Fr. Augustine has himself described the history and ceremony of the degree at dominican-liturgy.blogspot.com.
The ceremony of installation, held at St. Albert’s Priory, featured the lecture required of every new master on this occasion. Fr. Augustine entitled his remarks “The Soul You Lose May Be Your Own: Historical Reflections on the Theologian and the World.” It reviewed the unity-in-tension between faith and culture at key moments in the history of the Church. The ceremony was preceded by a Missa cantata in the Dominican rite at which Fr. Augustine presided. Pictures may be found at opwest.org.
