Saint Thomas Aquinas was interested in angels because why

Saint Thomas Aquinas, a medieval theologian of the Catholic Church and a philosopher, was interested in angels for several reasons. Firstly, he aimed to integrate Christian theology with the philosophy of Aristotle, and angels, being incorporeal beings, played a key role in his understanding of the universe's hierarchy and the nature of existence. Aquinas saw angels as a bridge between the material and spiritual realms.

He considered them as pure intellectual beings, created by God, and without any physical matter, which allowed them to surpass humans in terms of their ability to know and love God. Aquinas devoted significant attention to angels in his work "Summa Theologica," where he posited questions about their nature, their roles, the manner in which they communicate, and their interaction with the physical world and human beings.

He was interested in angels because he thought that studying them could shed light on both the nature of God and the perfectibility of creation. Furthermore, he saw understanding angels as a way to better understand human nature, our place in the cosmos, and our relationship with God, since humans and angels are both creatures but angels are purely spiritual while humans are both spiritual and material.