VIA MEDIA AKO EKLEZIOLOGICKÝ MODEL A TEOLOGICKÁ METÓDA JOHNA HENRYHO NEWMANA (1801 – 1890)

An attentive analysis of the concept of Via Media in the theology of John Henry Newman shows that while his ecclesiological model of the Anglican Church, conceived as a middle way between the extremes of the Roman Catholicism and the popular Protestantism, proved to be only a theory on paper, the theological method, which derived from it, was maintained by Newman throughout his whole theological career, i. e. both in his Anglican and Catholic period. His theological method of balancing and oscillating between various unilateral positions is exemplified in some of his polemical Anglican writings and in his major mariological contribution Letter to Pusey, which paves the way between maximalist and minimalist tendencies. It is suggested that since Newman’s method had a considerable impact on contemporary theology, it could serve as a fruitful means of overcoming hostile polarizations which threaten the Church and society.