John Henry Newman (1801-90) was brought up in the Church of England in the Evangelical tradition. An Oxford graduate and Fellow of Oriel College, he was appointed Vicar of St Mary's Oxford in 1828; from 1839 onwards he began to have doubts about the claims of the Anglican Church and in 1845 he was received into the Roman Catholic Church. He was made a Cardinal in 1879. His influence on both the restoration of Roman Catholicism in England and the advance of Catholic ideas in the Church of England was profound.
This volume covers a crucially important and significant period in Newman's life. The Church of England bishops' continuing condemnation of Tract 90 - plus Pusey's two-year suspension for preaching a university sermon on the Real Presence - are major factors in Newman resigning as Vicar of St Mary's, Oxford. His doubts about the Church of England are deeper and stronger than ever, and he is moving closer to Rome. William Lockhart's sudden defection to Rome in August 1843 precipitates his resignation. He preaches his final Anglican sermon, 'The Parting of Friends', and retires into lay communion at Littlemore. The first edition of University Sermons, including the celebrated sermon on theological development, virtually sells out within a fortnight.

From 1824 to 1843 Newman was an active clergyman of the Church of England; during these years he entered the pulpit about 1,270 times. He published 217 of the sermons which he wrote during these years; a further 246 sermons survive in manuscript in the Archives of the Birmingham Oratory, some only as fragments, some simply as sermon abstracts, but the majority as full texts. When completed, this series of the sermons will consist of five volumes.
Volume IV contains thirty-nine sermons covering a period of sixteen years from the time when John Henry was still an Evangelical to the period immediately leading up to his departure from the Church of England.
Part I contains twelve sermons on the Church, preached over a thirteen-year period from 1824 to 1837. Five of these belong to the twenty months spent as Curate of the old church of St Clement's and the other seven while Vicar of St Mary's, including the first sermon he ever preached on High Church principles.
Part II contains a miscellany of twenty-seven sermons preached between 1828 and 1840. They range from five sermons on the Incarnate Christ; one to commemorate the dedication of the new church at Littlemore; one on Rome and Antichrist, two on behalf of the Church Missionary Society and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel; two to mark the deaths of George IV and his former classic master, Walter Meyers; one also to commemorate the anniversary of the execution of Charles I.

John Henry Newman (1801-90) was brought up in the Church of England in the Evangelical tradition. An Oxford graduate and Fellow of Oriel College, he was appointed Vicar of St Mary's Oxford in 1828; from 1839 onwards he began to have doubts about the claims of the Anglican Church for Catholicity and in 1845 he was received into the Roman Catholic Church. He was made a Cardinal in 1879. His influence on both the restoration of Roman Catholicism in England and the advance of Catholic ideas in the Church of England was profound.
This key volume covers the final twenty-three months of Newman's Anglican years from November 1843 to 6 October 1845. It begins with Francis Rivington's refusal to publish Lives of the English Saints because of their Roman Catholic bias, and Newman's withdrawal from the editorship after the first two volumes of the series is published by another publishing house. The whole country is watching his every move. Rumours are rife and rampant. He is accused of being in the pay of the Pope. He is also accused of being a Jesuit or about to become one. But the attacks which really hit home are those accusing him of being a liar, a sceptic, and a traitor.
In February 1845, the University of Oxford's Convocation deprives William George Ward of his BA and MA Oxford degrees; and the proposal to censure Newman's Tract 90 is vetoed by two University Proctors. Newman sets to work in earnest on his Essay on Development, the publication of which will be the signal of his intentions to become a Roman Catholic. It goes to the printers in the third week of September. From this point on, events move swiftly. It is only a matter of days before Newman is received into the Churchof Rome by Father Dominic Barberi at Littlemore on 9 October 1845.