The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2486 page)

see
AQUINAS
.

 
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see
THOMAS, ST
;
UNIAT(E) CHURCHES
.

 
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Thomism
.

Christian philosophical theology based on the writings of St Thomas
Aquinas
. Although some propositions of Aquinas were initially condemned, his system was established in the 16th cent. onwards (known as Second Thomism, but also, confusingly, as
Neo-Thomism
/Neo-
Scholasticism
) as the basis of Roman Catholic theology and education. This was powerfully reinforced by
Leo XIII
in his
encyclical
Aeterni Patris
(1879) which gave rise to what is more properly known as Neo-Thomism. More recent writing on Aquinas has rejected the distorting lenses of the various Thomistic schools, and by returning to the text of Aquinas' works has emphasized the significant divergences between Aquinas and his commentators. (For transcendental Thomism, see
RAHNER, K.
)

 
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see
UPANAYANA
.

 
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(Tib.,
mdos
). Implement used in the magical rites of
Tibetan religions
, principally to deflect negative influences away from a person or community. The simplest form consists of two sticks bound together in the form of a cross with threads of five colours stretched over it to resemble a cobweb, but complex forms can be as much as eleven feet in height, resembling the
st
pa
in shape and symbolism. The thread-cross can serve as a temporary residence for a deity in rites of ‘creating good’ (such as protection for travellers), but more commonly in rites of ‘dispelling evil’ (such as assisting a person bothered by demons). R. de Nebesky-Wojkowitz (
Oracles and Demons in Tibet
, 1956), has drawn attention to the finding of thread-crosses in S. Africa, S. America, Australia, and Scandinavia, as well as in several areas of India.

 
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