The Correlation of Ecclesiological System of John Henry Newman and the Ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council

Piotr Zamaria

Abstract

The article is an attempt to describe two ecclesiological systems: one of the English theologian and convert John Henry Newman and one of the Vatican II, rendered in its documents and opinions. The interest in Newman’s ecclesiology and research on his academic work suggest the existence of some relation between Newman’s ecclesiology and the vision of the Church which was represented in the documents of Vatican II. In the commentaries of contemporary theologians one can find expressions referring to Newman as the silent Father of the Second Vatican Council or its precursor as well as one of the fathers of the emerging unification of the Church in the process of ecumenism.