Prisms of Expectation
Chapter 1 examines the various types of hopes and expectations that Roman Catholic authorities nourished for the Church of England as a potential missionary opportunity, with a special focus on Newman and the Oxford Movement. The chapter examines transnational social networks between Rome and England, and published and unpublished materials relating to Vatican-supported missionary initiatives in Oxford, as well as the depth of learning that certain figures in Rome displayed in Tractarian theology. The chapter considers adumbrations of the idea of doctrinal development in publication venues associated with Roman authorities, and offers an assessment of the degree to which Newman’s Essay on Development might have been considered novel or heterodox in the middle decades of the nineteenth century.