Apologia Pro Vita Sua

Apologia Pro Vita Sua

Title page of the first edition.
Author	John Henry Newman
Country	England
Language	English
Publisher	Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green
Publication date	1864

Apologia Pro Vita Sua (Latin: A defense of one's own life) is John Henry Newman's defense of his religious opinions, published in 1864 in response to Charles Kingsley of the Church of England after Newman quit his position as the Anglican vicar of St. Mary's, Oxford.

John Henry Newman was regarded as a premiere religious figure even before writing this definitive essay. The backdrop for the essay was a mid-century Anglican theological controversy in which Newman and other Anglicans were calling for a return to a former more disciplined and traditional authoritarian hierarchy.

Friction during the years from 1833 to 1841 lead Newman and his allies in the Oxford Movement to publish a statement, the Tracts for the Times, to which Newman was a contributor. The tensions culminated in Newman's 1845 resignation as Anglican vicar of St. Mary's, Oxford and his departure from the Anglican church seeking the Roman Catholics.^[1].

One of Newman's rivals was Anglican Charles Kingsley of the Broad Church party, who responded to Newman's departure with attacks impeaching his truthfulness and honor. The flowing, almost poetic prose of the Apologia Pro Vita Sua was a spiritual autobiographical defense to Kingsley's attacks.

Newman's book was influential with both churches and Newman was ultimately ordained by the Roman Catholics, where he soon became established as one of the foremost exponents of Catholicism in England.^[1]

The book was very well received and became a bestseller, remaining in print today. A revised version of the Apologia Pro Vita Sua with many passages rewritten and some parts omitted, was published in 1865.