The Grammar of Justification: the Doctrines of Peter Martyr Vermigli and John Henry Newman and Their Ecumenical Implications
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Middlesex University Research Repository An open access repository of Middlesex University research http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk Castaldo, Christopher A. (2015) The grammar of justification: the doctrines of Peter Martyr Vermigli and John Henry Newman and their ecumenical implications. PhD thesis, Middlesex University / London School of Theology. [Thesis] Final accepted version (with author’s formatting) This version is available at: https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/15772/ Copyright: Middlesex University Research Repository makes the University’s research available electronically. Copyright and moral rights to this work are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners unless otherwise stated. The work is supplied on the understanding that any use for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. A copy may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial, research or study without prior permission and without charge. 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See also repository copyright: re-use policy: http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/policies.html#copy The Grammar of Justification: The Doctrines of Peter Martyr Vermigli and John Henry Newman and Their Ecumenical Implications A Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Christopher A. Castaldo Middlesex University Supervised at London School of Theology August 2014 ABstract Christopher Albert Castaldo, “The Grammar of Justification: The Doctrines of Peter Martyr Vermigli and John Henry Newman and Their Ecumenical Implications” (Ph.D. thesis, Middlesex University/London School of Theology, 2014). This thesis analyzes the doctrines of justification in the Roman Catholic John Henry Newman (1801-1890) and the Reformed Protestant Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562), examining their historical contexts and respective works. Recognition of their common concerns, common commitments, different commitments, and different conclusions provide insight into agreements and variences between Roman Catholics and Reformed Protestants in contemporary ecumenical dialogue. We conclude that many of the classic discrepencies between Roman Catholics and Reformed Protestants are not as irreconcilable as they may appear at first glance. We recognize, for example, a common commitment to union with Christ by the Holy Spirit, a union that imparts twofold righteousness by divine initiative. This righteousness grows in an internal habit of grace, producing virtue as it reaches toward holiness. Such works are a necessary part of justification, which pleases God and receives his favor in the form of rewards. Despite this convergence, however, some irreconcilable differences remain. Most fundamental is the question of justification’s formal cause, whether divine forgiveness is ultimately based upon an internal work of the Spirit or the forensic imputation of Christ’s righteousness. There is also the basic difference of how righteousness is appropriated, by means of faith alone through the sacrament of baptism. Finally, there is disagreement over perseverance of faith, whether Christians are eternally secure in their justification. In addition to advancing scholarship on several issues associated with Newman’s and Vermigli’s doctrines of justification and illuminating reasons and attendant circumstances for conversion across the Tiber, the overall conclusions of this study offer a broader range of soteriological possibilities to ecumenical dialogue among Roman Catholics and Protestants by clarifying the common ground to which both traditions may lay claim. i Acknowledgements The completion of this thesis would not have happened without encouragement from several friends and colleagues, namely Dr. Michael McDuffee, Dr. E. David Cook, Dr. Timothy George, Msgr. Dr. John Cihak, Dr. Jerry Root, and Dr. Lon Allison. I am indebted to the staff at Buswell Library in Wheaton, particularly Gregory Morrison for helping me obtain several monographs. I am grateful for Gianni Saillen for providing a visit to the Villa I Tatti in Florence, Italy to enjoy its collection of Vermigliana. Likewise, I am thankful for Drs. Damon McGraw and Kevin Mongrain of the National Institute for Newman Studies for graciously providing full access to the Newman Knowledge Kiosk. I am especially grateful for Dr. Frank James III who offered me valuable input at the outset of my research and who has been available to answer questions along the way. Likewise, I am indebted to Dr. John Patrick Donnelly S.J. for reading nearly every chapter and offering incisive feedback. I am also thankful for Dr. Thomas Sheridan S.J. who not only took time to discuss Newman’s doctrine of justification, but also offered insight into its significance for Christian life and ministry. And thanks to Kirk Vukonich, Susanne Calhoun, and Yousaf Sadiq for graciously reading and copyediting portions of the thesis. I can’t adequately express gratitude for my supervisor, Professor Anthony Lane, whose patience, encouragement, and example of academic rigor are gifts for which I will always be grateful. Finally, I thank my dear wife, Angela, whose unfailing love and support has enabled me to take up and read, and our children, Luke, Philip, Simeon, Aliza, and David Malachi for understanding how important this project has been for Daddy. ii List of ABBreviations Apo Newman, John Henry. Apologia pro vita sua: being a history of his religious opinions (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1882) AW Newman, John Henry. Autobiographical Writings, ed. Henry Tristram (London Sheed and Ward, 1956) CCC Catechism of the Catholic Church, ed. 2 (Citta del vatticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997) ID McGrath, Alister E. Iustitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification, 3rd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) Jfc Newman, John Henry. Lectures on the Doctrine of Justification, 3rd ed. (London: Rivington, 1874) PMI McNair, Philip. Peter Martyr in Italy: An Anatomy of Apostasy (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967) PMR The Peter Martyr Reader, ed. John Patrick Donnelly, Frank A. James, III, and Joseph C. McLelland (Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press, 1999) PPS Newman, John Henry. Parochial and Plain Sermons (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1997) Romanos Vermigli, Pietro Martire. In epistolam S. Pauli apostoli ad Romanos D. Petri Martyris Vermilii Florentini, professoris divinarum literarum in schola Tigurina, commentarii doctissimi, cum tractatione perutili rerum & locorum, qui ad eam epistolam pertinent (Basel: Apud Petrum Perna, 1560) JD The Lutheran World Federation and The Roman Catholics Church, Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000) iii Table of Contents Abstract i Acknowledgements ii Abbreviations iii Table of Contents iv Introduction 1 Chapter 1. Background to Peter Martyr’s Doctrine of Justification 10 A. The Study of Peter Martyr Vermigli 10 B. The “Quite Learned Man” from Italy 16 C. The Italian Renewal Movement Called “Evangelisme” 19 D. Religious Discourse in Italy: 1490-1530 22 E. Italian Evangelisme and the Doctrine of Justification 27 F. Vermigli’s Doctrine of Justification 33 G. Peter Martyr at Oxford 38 H. Peter Martyr’s Locus on Justification 44 I. Conclusion 48 Chapter 2. Peter Martyr Vermigli’s Doctrine of Justification 50 A. Theological Contours of Vermigli’s Doctrine of Justification 50 B. Regeneration and Pneumatic Renewal 53 C. The Forensic Framework of Justification 61 D. Faith alone 65 E. Justification’s Formal Cause and the Duplex Iustitia 75 F. Conclusion 85 Chapter 3. Newman’s Historical Background 88 A. The Study of John Henry Newman 88 B. The World of John Henry Newman 93 C. Newman the Calvinist 98 D. Newman Questions His Evangelical Assumptions 101 E. “Shreds and Tatters” of Evangelicalism 105 F. The Making of Newman’s Via Media 107 iv G. The Oxford or Tractarian Movement 112 H. The Lectures on the Doctrine of Justification 119 I. Conclusion 126 Chapter 4. John Henry Newman’s Doctrine of Justification 128 A. Theological Contours of Newman’s Doctrine of Justification 128 B. Incarnation 133 C. The Sacramental Framework of Justification 136 D. Justifying Presence 140 E. The Christocentric Focus of Justification 142 F. Pneumatic, Resurrected Life 146 G. The Formal Cause of Justification 149 H. Conclusion 160 Chapter 5. A Comparison of Newman and Vermigli on the Doctrine of Justification 161 I. Common Concerns 161 A. Newman and Vermigli in Conversation 161 B. Works Righteousness 163 C. Cheap Grace 165 D. Holding Forensic and Actual Righteousness Close Together 166 E. Distinguishing Forensic and Actual Righteousness 168 II. Common Commitments 169 A. An Augustinian Harmatology