THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY of AMERICA John Henry Newman's
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THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA John Henry Newman’s Lectures on the Prophetical Office of the Church: A Contextual History and Ecclesiological Analysis A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Sacred Theology © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Joseph G. Elamparayil Washington, D.C. 2012 John Henry Newman’s Lectures on the Prophetical Office of the Church: A Contextual History and Ecclesiological Analysis Joseph G. Elamparayil, S.T.D. Director: John T. Ford, S.T.D. In order to provide an ecclesiological foundation for the Oxford Movement (a reform movement within the Church of England), John Henry Newman (1801-1890) gave a series of lectures in 1834 and 1836 in the Adam de Brome Chapel of St. Mary’s Church, Oxford. His presentations were later published as Lectures on the Prophetical Office of the Church Viewed Relatively to Romanism and Popular Protestantism (18361; 18372). The third edition of the Prophetical Office was published in 1877 with revisions, notes and a new Preface. This dissertation provides a contextual history and an ecclesiological analysis of Newman’s Prophetical Office. The first part of this study examines the historical background of the Prophetical Office, beginning with Newman’s early ideas of the Church, which he learned from his study of the Fathers of the Church and the Arian controversy. Next is an account of the impressions of the Church that Newman derived from his first encounters with the churches of Greece and Rome during his Mediterranean voyage (1832-1833) and his ecclesiological reflections in his four-part essay, “Home Thoughts Abroad.” This dissertation then examines the Tracts for the Times that Newman wrote on ecclesiological topics during the Oxford Movement (1833-1837) and also discusses the influence on his ecclesiology of his discussion with both a Roman Catholic opponent, Abbé Jean-Nicolas Jager (1790-1868), and an Anglican friend, Richard Hurrell Froude (1803-1836). The second part of this study is an ecclesiological analysis of the fourteen lectures of the Prophetical Office, along with the revisions, notes and new Preface that Newman added in 1877. This analysis, which examines the characteristics and principal themes of Newman’s theological thought, shows that Newman’s Prophetical Office represents a comprehensive ecclesiology. In sum, this dissertation provides a contextual history as well as an ecclesiological analysis of Newman’s Prophetical Office, which was his “major constructive work in ecclesiology” yet which until now has received insufficient attention and recognition. This dissertation by Joseph G. Elamparayil fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in Systematic Theology approved by John T. Ford, C.S.C., S.T.D., as Director, and by John P. Galvin, Dr. Theol., and James Wiseman, O.S.B., S.T.D., as Readers. ____________________________________ John T. Ford, C.S.C., S.T.D., Director ____________________________________ John P. Galvin, Dr. Theol., Reader ____________________________________ James Wiseman, O.S.B., S.T.D., Reader ii CONTENTS INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER ONE: NEWMAN’S INITIAL VIEW OF THE CHURCH ....................... 8 1. Newman’s Formative Years ................................................................................... 8 2. Newman’s Study of the Arians ............................................................................. 19 3. A Summary of Newman’s Initial View of the Church ......................................... 34 CHAPTER TWO: NEWMAN’S MEDITERRANEAN VOYAGE: ENCOUNTERING OTHER CHURCHES .................................................................. 37 1. In the Footsteps of the Apostles and Fathers ........................................................ 39 2. The Greek Church ................................................................................................. 41 3. The Irish Church Bill ............................................................................................ 42 4. The Church of Rome ............................................................................................. 47 A. An Apocalyptic Rome .................................................................................... 49 B. Classical Rome ............................................................................................... 52 C. Religious Rome .............................................................................................. 53 5. Newman’s Return to Sicily ................................................................................... 62 6. A Summary: Encountering Real Churches ........................................................... 64 CHAPTER THREE: AN ECCLESIOLOGICAL CONVERSION ABROAD ......... 66 1. An Ecclesiological Dialogue in Rome .................................................................. 66 2. Towards an Ecclesiological Debate ...................................................................... 75 3. A Movement of the Friends of the Church ........................................................... 82 4. A Summary: Ecclesiological Conversion and Movement .................................... 93 CHAPTER FOUR: THE CHURCH IN NEWMAN’S TRACTS ............................... 95 1. The Visible Church ............................................................................................... 96 A. Apostolic Foundation of the Church ............................................................ 103 B. The Role of Bishops ..................................................................................... 107 C. Rejection of the Pope .................................................................................... 112 iii D. Church Reform ............................................................................................. 118 2. The Anglican Church as Via Media .................................................................... 119 A. The Problem: Popish or Protestant? ............................................................. 120 B. The Answer: The Anglican Church as Via Media ........................................ 122 3. A Summary: The Church in Newman’s Tracts .................................................. 128 CHAPTER FIVE: NEWMAN-JAGER CONTROVERSY ON CHURCH AUTHORITY ................................................................................................................ 131 1. Context of the Controversy ................................................................................. 132 2. Correspondence between Newman and Jager ..................................................... 135 A. Church, Scripture and Tradition ................................................................... 137 B. Infallibility of the Church ............................................................................. 140 C. Fundamental and Non-Fundamental Dogmas .............................................. 143 D. The Development of Doctrines ..................................................................... 150 E. Apostolic and Prophetic Traditions .............................................................. 153 F. Scripture as the Rule of Faith ....................................................................... 161 3. The Jager-Newman Controversy and the Prophetical Office ............................. 167 4. A Summary: The Authority of Church in Newman-Jager Controversy ............. 169 CHAPTER SIX: THE CHURCH IN FROUDE-NEWMAN’S CORRESPONDENCE ................................................................................................. 171 1. Newman and Froude as Fellows and Co-Travelers ............................................ 173 2. Leaders of the Movement for the Church ........................................................... 177 A. The Doctrine of the Eucharist ....................................................................... 181 B. Church and State ........................................................................................... 183 C. Apostolic Succession .................................................................................... 187 D. Growing Love for Roman Catholicism ........................................................ 188 3. Froude’s Critique of the Newman-Jager Controversy ........................................ 192 4. Froude’s Remains................................................................................................ 203 5. Froude and Newman’s Prophetical Office ......................................................... 205 6. Froude’s Critique of Newman’s Ecclesiology: A Summary .............................. 206 iv CHAPTER SEVEN: THE VIA MEDIA BETWEEN INFALLIBILITY AND PRIVATE JUDGMENT ............................................................................................... 209 1. The Authority of the Church ............................................................................... 210 2. Protestant and Roman Errors .............................................................................. 218 3. Roman Neglect of Antiquity ............................................................................... 224 4. The Doctrine of Infallibility ................................................................................ 230 5. The Use of Private Judgment .............................................................................