J. H. Newman’s path from Anglicanism to Catholicism: The most important historiographical assessments

Abstract

The most important event in the life of the outstanding Christian theologian J. H. Newman (1801–1890) was his transition from Anglicanism to Catholicism, which took place in 1845. That event made a huge impression on contemporaries. Interest in it has remained even further. This article attempts to analyze the historiography of the Newman’s conversion process, highlight the most important stages, and consider research concepts. The first stage in the development of the historiography of Newman’s conversion took 1845 to 1864. The writings of that time were distinguished with emotionality and were completely based on confessional preferences. Many Anglicans who shared traditional anti-Catholic beliefs perceived Newman’s departure as treason. The second stage covered the period from 1865 to the mid 20th century. The appearance of such sources as Newman’s autobiography “Apologia Pro Vita Sua” (1864), the publication of his selected letters made it possible to look at the problem more broadly. The confessional approach continued to dominate. Highly ecclesiastical authors (W. Palmer, R. Church, S. Ollar), regretting Newman’s departure from the Church of England, assigned a decisive role to unfavorable circumstances, while radical Protestants saw in Newman a figure initially aspiring to Rome (W. Walsh). The third stage, started in the middle of the last century, was marked with a gradual departure from Confessionalism and the appearance of a number of works specifically devoted to the process of Newman’s conversion (R. Imberg, J. Hammond, W. Conn). That question is also considered in detail by Newman’s biographers (F. Turner, I. Ker, S. Gilley). Currently, a research consensus has been reached in understanding Newman’s movement to Rome as a long-term process determined by both internal and external factors. But there is no consensus in understanding what combination of those factors turned out to be decisive.