Parochial and Plain Sermons: Volume 1

by John Henry Newman

John Henry Newman (1801-1890) was a significant figure in the religious history of nineteenth century England. Cardinal Newman was a leader of the Oxford Movement which eventually lead to the development of Anglo-Catholicism. No small presence within religious literature, John Henry Newman also wrote a great deal of tracts, hymns, and apologias. Here is collected twenty-six sermons, Volume I of his "Parochial and Plain Sermons." These sermons are essential to an understanding of Newman's theological development as well as the dynamic changes that occurred within the Catholic Church in the 19th century. A diverse collection, Newman writes on "Religious Faith Rational," "The Christian Mysteries," "Religious Emotion," as well as much more. These sermons were all preached on Sundays by Newman at his Anglican parish, Saint Mary the Virgin, Oxford. Essential to any student of theology, these sermons mark a great change in the Anglican and Catholic traditions.

Genres: Spirituality

804 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 2009

About the author

Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman was an important figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century. He was known nationally by the mid-1830s.
Originally an evangelical Oxford University academic and priest in the Church of England, Newman then became drawn to the high-church tradition of Anglicanism. He became known as a leader of, and an able polemicist for, the Oxford Movement, an influential and controversial grouping of Anglicans who wished to return to the Church of England many Catholic beliefs and liturgical rituals from before the English Reformation. In this the movement had some success. However, in 1845 Newman, joined by some but not all of his followers, left the Church of England and his teaching post at Oxford University and was received into the Catholic Church. He was quickly ordained as a priest and continued as an influential religious leader, based in Birmingham. In 1879, he was created a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in recognition of his services to the cause of the Catholic Church in England. He was instrumental in the founding of the Catholic University of Ireland, which evolved into University College Dublin, today the largest university in Ireland.

Newman was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 September 2010 during his visit to the United Kingdom. He was then canonised by Pope Francis on 13 October 2019.

Newman was also a literary figure of note: his major writings including the Tracts for the Times (1833–1841), his autobiography Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1865–66), the Grammar of Assent (1870), and the poem The Dream of Gerontius (1865),[6] which was set to music in 1900 by Edward Elgar. He wrote the popular hymns "Lead, Kindly Light" and "Praise to the Holiest in the Height" (taken from Gerontius).

Reviews

[Juan Alarcon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book, inciting to embrace wholeheartedly Christianity in a radical and still modern way.