Professional Documents
Culture Documents
"Fight to the death for the truth and the Lord God will fight for you." (Sir
4:28)
CHURCH HISTORY
https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com/2021/08/12/questions-about-…-newman-vis-a-vis-vincent-de-lerins-with-father-thomas-g-guarino/ Página 1 de 10
Questions about John Henry Newman vis a vis Vincent de Lerins with Father Thomas G. Guarino – Orthodox Christian Theology 3/11/22, 11:25
Yes, virtually all Catholic theologians would agree that there is doctrinal
development over time. By this they mean that the Church, under the
light of the Holy Spirit, comes to a fuller understanding of divine
revelation. I am aware of no opposition to this position among Catholic
theologians.
Saint Vincent de Lerins spoke that the Church should make “all
possible progress.” (Commonitorium, par 54) What does he mean
by this?
https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com/2021/08/12/questions-about-…-newman-vis-a-vis-vincent-de-lerins-with-father-thomas-g-guarino/ Página 2 de 10
Questions about John Henry Newman vis a vis Vincent de Lerins with Father Thomas G. Guarino – Orthodox Christian Theology 3/11/22, 11:25
This line, found in the first paragraph of chapter 23, is crucial for St.
Vincent. Throughout his Commonitorium, Vincent repeatedly cites St.
Paul’s admonition, “Guard the Deposit, Timothy!” (I Timothy 6.20). The
truth of the Christian faith is always uppermost in St. Vincent’s mind—
and it must be jealously guarded from errors. So, while there can be
progress and development over time, any growth must clearly protect
prior doctrinal landmarks. Later ecumenical councils, for example, must
cherish and protect the teachings of earlier ones, even if they add
something further. That is what he means when he says that development
and growth are always possible, but they must protect the anterior
tradition, “in the same sense and with the same meaning.”
https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com/2021/08/12/questions-about-…-newman-vis-a-vis-vincent-de-lerins-with-father-thomas-g-guarino/ Página 3 de 10
Questions about John Henry Newman vis a vis Vincent de Lerins with Father Thomas G. Guarino – Orthodox Christian Theology 3/11/22, 11:25
Again, Vincent was a great defender of the council of Nicaea (with its
signature term, homoousios), and a great defender of the council of
Ephesus (with its signature term, Theotokos). He wanted to show that
these non-biblical words were proper developments—that is, they fully
protected the ancient, biblical faith of the Church. Writing four centuries
after Christ’s death, St. Vincent knew that change occurs in the Church.
https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com/2021/08/12/questions-about-…-newman-vis-a-vis-vincent-de-lerins-with-father-thomas-g-guarino/ Página 4 de 10
Questions about John Henry Newman vis a vis Vincent de Lerins with Father Thomas G. Guarino – Orthodox Christian Theology 3/11/22, 11:25
The early Newman, as with many others, was attracted to this phrase
because, on its face, it offers a clear criterion which separates Christian
truth from heresy. Truth is that which has been believed by Christians
always, everywhere and by everyone. Later teachings, therefore, are
innovations which must be opposed. So the early Newman argued that
certain teachings of the Catholic Church—such as the existence of an
intermediate state (purgatory), or the strong emphasis on Mary, or the
veneration of relics—were later innovations, not teachings believed
“always, everywhere and by everyone.”
Newman’s concern was that the Anglican Church was losing touch with
the patristic roots of Christianity. This was one reason that Newman and
his friends published a series called “Records of the Church,” which were
published along with the better-known “Tracts for the Times.” The
https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com/2021/08/12/questions-about-…-newman-vis-a-vis-vincent-de-lerins-with-father-thomas-g-guarino/ Página 5 de 10
Questions about John Henry Newman vis a vis Vincent de Lerins with Father Thomas G. Guarino – Orthodox Christian Theology 3/11/22, 11:25
St. Vincent is badly misunderstood when one takes his “canon” to mean
that there cannot be development and growth over time. This mistake has
been made by many theologians who take his “canon” in isolation from
the rest of St. Vincent’s great book.
What is the “seed theory” and how did Newman apply it?
St. Vincent uses the example of the seed and the plant as similar to the
example of the child and the adult. [Commonitorium, Par 57/Chap 23]
In both cases, there is growth—but it is growth that is organic and
homogeneous. In his Essay on Development, Newman adopted
Vincent’s biological examples to explain, at great length, how the
Church’s teaching matures and unfolds over time, under the guidance of
the Holy Spirit.
https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com/2021/08/12/questions-about-…-newman-vis-a-vis-vincent-de-lerins-with-father-thomas-g-guarino/ Página 6 de 10
Questions about John Henry Newman vis a vis Vincent de Lerins with Father Thomas G. Guarino – Orthodox Christian Theology 3/11/22, 11:25
As you know, with this comment, Newman is arguing that the veneration
of the Mother of God and the saints does not obscure the Incarnation and
Atonement, but actually highlights Christ’s salvific work. For Newman,
the veneration of the saints in the Church’s life is a matter of development
“according to the same meaning and the same judgment”—a true
advance (profectus) and not corruption (permutatio) of the faith.
Some Protestant Christians will claim that the veneration of Mary and
the saints is not found in the Sacred Scriptures, so this practice is clearly
a later innovation by the Church—and possibly a corruption of the
Gospel message. Newman was seeking to answer that charge by showing
https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com/2021/08/12/questions-about-…-newman-vis-a-vis-vincent-de-lerins-with-father-thomas-g-guarino/ Página 7 de 10
Questions about John Henry Newman vis a vis Vincent de Lerins with Father Thomas G. Guarino – Orthodox Christian Theology 3/11/22, 11:25
that the cultus of Mary and the saints in no way obscures the uniqueness
of Christ’s salvific work. On the contrary, he argues, God’s work through
the saints draws the mind and heart closer to Christ.
The cult of the saints grew quickly, even if this practice is not found in the
Bible itself. For example, we have a papyrus of a prayer to
the Theotokos likely dating from the third century (“Beneath your
protection, we take refuge, O Theotokos.”)
Yes. It is likely that prayer to Mary and the saints was a practice that
grew over time, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com/2021/08/12/questions-about-…-newman-vis-a-vis-vincent-de-lerins-with-father-thomas-g-guarino/ Página 8 de 10
Questions about John Henry Newman vis a vis Vincent de Lerins with Father Thomas G. Guarino – Orthodox Christian Theology 3/11/22, 11:25
In the present day, what doctrinal and moral issues does the
Roman Catholic Church face and how can Vincent and
Newman’s epistemologies help tackle these challenges? In other
words, what may “all possible progress” look like today? What
problems may arise by not applying Newman’s rule?
Both Newman and Vincent were convinced that anything that possesses
life possesses growth as well. But any growth must be carefully
husbanded so that it is in accord with the prior dogmatic teachings of the
Church. If I may offer a concluding thought: St. Vincent was a great
believer in the consentient unity of the entire Church. It is precisely for
this reason that he was an ardent defender of ecumenical councils—since
they represented the faith of Christians over the entire globe. Were he
alive today, Vincent would be most scandalized by the divisions that exist
within Christendom. Vincent would counsel us, I believe, to exert every
effort to achieve visible Christian unity.
https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com/2021/08/12/questions-about-…-newman-vis-a-vis-vincent-de-lerins-with-father-thomas-g-guarino/ Página 9 de 10
Questions about John Henry Newman vis a vis Vincent de Lerins with Father Thomas G. Guarino – Orthodox Christian Theology 3/11/22, 11:25
BLOG AT WORDPRESS.COM.
https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com/2021/08/12/questions-about-…newman-vis-a-vis-vincent-de-lerins-with-father-thomas-g-guarino/ Página 10 de 10