Before Deification Became Eastern: Newman's Ecumenical Retrieval

Abstract John Henry Newman spearheaded one of the first modern retrievals of the Christian doctrine of deification. This article argues that, precisely because of the early date of Newman's rehabilitation, his treatment is not tinted by the polemics surrounding theosis that developed in the late nineteenth century between Eastern and Western Christianity. To Newman, deification is not an Eastern doctrine, it is not cause for division between East and West, and it does not supplant justification. Instead, it arises from a broad patristic consensus, it is a tool for union among the churches, and it provides resources for understanding justification properly.