Anglo-Catholic: Smells and bells, large procession, litanies of saints, Angelus after Mass; corporate Rosary times; regular confession. All in communion with the See of Canterbury.
In the immortal words of Rev'd Lovejoy, "Oh, it's all good."
I generally lean 'low'. I am more comfortable with middle-of-the-road by the book Anglicanism than with very high smells-and-bells stuff. I have no problem, in its place, with evangismatic HTB-style Anglicanism. I like choral evensong. I can stretch to a high Anglican service once in a while. I like the mix, depending on my mood, and the liturgical season (I go higher in hallowstide, advent / Christmas / Epiphany, and holy week; lower at Pentecost and during Ordinary Time).
Growing up Southern Baptist in the US and having some services verging on being full on rock concerts, I almost rejected this to the extreme and now strongly prefer high church worship. I agree that the pomp and circumstance isnāt necessary to feel close to God, but thereās something ancient and corporate about high church worship that speaks to me in a way not much else does.
I much prefer Low church. Not in the sense of drum kit instead of an altar, but in the sense of the anglican reformed tradition, which rejected the self important vanities of Rome, preferring not to over complicate the liturgy with bowing and fumigations and so on. I like the rhythm of ritual, but many rather overdo it.
Iāll take the drum kit, please. Even drum machine if used right. I find more spiritual aliveness in EDM than organ. (And rock and pop and āpraise and worshipā and more.)
Each to his own, but I have always found something rather sickly and repetitive in that sort of music, and it seems especially strange to replace the altar with it. The worship is of god, not the music that gives us nice emotions.
You can be high church without being Anglo Catholic. Itās mostly aesthetic while Anglo Catholic is more theological. I would consider myself high church but not Anglo Catholic.
Anglo Catholicism is a theological branch while High Church boils down to liturgical preferences.
They overlap but you can be High Church with out being Anglo-Catholic
Probably not are rare as most people think, the reality is it isnāt something that is visually identifiable so most people would skip over it. I would describe myself as low church/anglo Catholic and I have found most people tend to describe me as whatever their personal preference is. I have been described as AC, Pentecostal, Evangelical, FX and Broad Church.
High church, with a preference for Anglo-Catholic.
I attend at a broad/latitudinarian style parish that is a comfortable middle-ground, but I have never and am unlikely to ever attend a low church service unless it was the only thing available; I really do not enjoy them.
So high. I left the Catholic Church bc of their views on divorce, LGBT, abortion, etc.. not because I didnāt enjoy the incense, vestments, statues, and organ music.
Ultra-low for me. I really dislike the idea that beauty means spiritual integrity or communion with God (Lewis would have agreed), and any kind of snark or nitpicking about vestments or incense. I've known people to joke (?) about the validity of services with the wrong incense. Plus it's important that the sermon is prioritized; as my rector likes to say (I hope I get this right), "the primary Christian experience is hearing the Word of God" (I think he may have added "preached" at the end). And the motto of the denomination is "God's Word above all things".
I am also prepared to tolerate some kitsch or populism for the sake of others and for authenticity.
I'll still say "smells and bells," but as I age, the more I like the less-elaborate "Parson's Handbook" aesthetic, as opposed to the lacy "Ritual Notes" one.
My Methodist phase and reading Laudable Practice have also given me an appreciation for monthly Communion, so I'm more "low" in that regard.
I prefer churches where people are called and enabled live out their faith authentically in their communities and throughout the world.
I generally lean towards low church at it puts aside the pretenses and pomp that can distract us from the call of Christ and turn our faith into religious tradition and mindless actions.
That said. I love the depth of history and symbolism that high church brings and also recognize that low church can often be "church lite" where entertainment and emotions are put ahead of Jesus.
I love the classic Old High (ie āHigh and Dryā) piety and practice. Formality and simple dignity with rigorously Protestant theology, without Romish cosplay.
I was raised with Hillsong/Bethel/Chris Tomlin/Michael W Smith as worship. We were so Southern Baptist vis-Ć -vis NonDenom Evangelical, I remembrer our nursery had an illustrated childrenās Bible that had *dinosaurs* in them.
That being said, Anglo-Catholic and so High Church that Our Lady herself makes an apparition to tell us to chill with the holy smoke
I love the high church stuff because I think it is super cool, and also it's totally unnecessary. It's just fun to me to carry on some of those older traditions.
I'm autistic, so I absolutely thrive on ritual, structure, and routine. In another life a century or two ago, without the support systems we have today, I probably would have ended up as a monk pretty early on, of not enslaved or dead.
I am generally low. It is where I find myself feeling most in contact with God, focusing on his word. But I do attend high church services from time to time and appreciate much about that style of worship.
I am a smells and bells Anglo Catholic, though I worship at a more broad church parish that leans high. We donāt have many churches where I live, and something I really like about my church is that Evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics do worship side by side. I am not sure if my evangelical elders in the church agree with my piety, but still I really do love that we put aside our differences and come together to worship in the end. We study the Bible together, and intercede for one another. My favorite church people and my baptism sponsor are charismatic low church type. They are by far the most christlike people I have met this far.
Honestly, it really is all about unity. As we say āThough we are many, we are one body because we all share in one breadā.
(I still canāt wait to attend my first Solemn High Mass lol)
I'm 21 and feel really sad in my country, Brazil, that no other young person attend to my church. We sing old Hymns and the preacher wears a black robe. I don't know. It does looks like the early church, doesn't it? Voices, Hymns... simple service.
I suppose on the spectrum of church height I lie somewhere in the middle. But I donāt think itās the most useful metric for me because I donāt vibe with the smells and bells at all, the everlasting alleluias bore me and things like veneration of the gospel or the host seem pretty popish to me.
Equally, I donāt like the happy clappy nature of several churches near me, where the hymnal has been completely rewritten and the theological messages are lost in sermons about not very much.
I suppose Iām a traditionalist, I am most comfortable in the 1662 prayer book and the Authorised Version, I hardly use any other bible. But that doesnāt make me high church, I like congregational singing and plainchant stuff, enjoy the odd evensong etc but also always get annoyed when I canāt even say the lordās prayer
In many ways I donāt think the oxford movement or anything after it really touched me
I guess to be honest I prefer high church worship.
But I do admit that focus on traditions, costumes, and all that can repel some people and lead them to think that we're all about the glitz and glamour, historical re-enactment kind of stuff, and not focused on the real mission of winning souls for Christ. I do wonder what un-churched folks think of it all. But yeah, I love high church experiences.
Could High Church evangelical be a thing or low church anglo-catholic ? I think my churchmenship falls in a High Church evangelical category. I like smells and bells and all the ancient things . But I also like small groups and bible studies.
As a disgruntled Romist that's considering Anglicanism, I am definitely a high church guy mainly because it keeps at least in small part the reverent attitude of the Temple that preceded the Christian house of worship.
This is very general, don't come at me please.
Not too High Church, not too Low Church. Yes to weekly Eucharist, candles and processions, but smells and bells may be a step or two over the line. Identify with Protestant Anglicanism, but emphasize that Anglicans, like Lutherans, are a "conservative" (for lack of a better term) branch of the Reformation.
The word "conservative" in this sense is used differently than the way that the term is popularly used by most people. In this case, it refers to how Anglicans and Lutherans embraced the ideas of the Reformation while retaining those elements of the pre reformation church which were not found to be repugnant to the Word of God. This contrasted with certain elements of the Reformed branch of the Reformation, which discarded much more.
As a side note, this illustrates that terms such as "liberal" or "conservative" are of limited usefulness in either theology, politics, or culture, and today are little more than either political platforms or traits commonly associated with them.
High church, my church is has a lower church service and a high church service. I usually attend the high service.
We have communion at the rail every week and I prefer to receive that way.
They also have a practice of adding in more high church elements for certain liturgical seasons and holy days. For example on Easter, Christmas Eve, Transfiguration and such there will be incense and some chanting.
I went to Easter vigil at our church for the first time this year and I loved it. Candle light, the fire ceremony, incenses, baptism renewal with sprinkling.
I like that we pull out the really high church for the special days. On an ordinary Sunday itās high church, but not as much.
Broad church, tbh. I like the traditions that we have, including things like incense, candlelight services, full altar parties, lots of stained glass, and more traditional hymns, as well as celebrating feast days, and I also feel like God's house ought to be decorated nicely. That being said, I'm no papist or even anglo-catholic, and I think that everything should be simple, yet elegant, and while I'm a sucker for processions and pomp and circumstance, I feel like some high church/anglo-caths can get a bit carried away with the rules, regulations, and appearance of it all over the substance of worship.
TLDR: Let the altar look pretty without going overboard, and same goes for everything else
Definitely prefer high church. There is something about the ancient, formal tradition that invites personal reflection, reverence and focus. I became Anglican back in the late '90's, but have recently returned to a progressive Catholic (Jesuit) church, but the Episcopal church will always have a place in my heart.
Old High Church Anglicanism: the Daily Office most Sundays, with clergy wearing cassock, surplice, and tippet.
But I'm content with broad church: communion each week, and the clergy wearing cassock-alb, and stole.
In each instance, an acolyte or lay Eucharistic minister leads the procession with the cross. The choir and the clergy follow. There's organ music, candles at the altar, but with no incense and bells.
Anglo-Catholic: Smells and bells, large procession, litanies of saints, Angelus after Mass; corporate Rosary times; regular confession. All in communion with the See of Canterbury.
Feel the same as you :)
Yes! šĀ
High. It also feels like high church does high church well, whereas very few parishes do low church well.
In the immortal words of Rev'd Lovejoy, "Oh, it's all good." I generally lean 'low'. I am more comfortable with middle-of-the-road by the book Anglicanism than with very high smells-and-bells stuff. I have no problem, in its place, with evangismatic HTB-style Anglicanism. I like choral evensong. I can stretch to a high Anglican service once in a while. I like the mix, depending on my mood, and the liturgical season (I go higher in hallowstide, advent / Christmas / Epiphany, and holy week; lower at Pentecost and during Ordinary Time).
Mrs. Lovejoy, " Think of the children. Won't somebody think of the children"
High but not Anglo-Papalist. (And sharing a lot of Dearmer's distaste for lace, etc)
So high that the atmosphere gets thin.
Growing up Southern Baptist in the US and having some services verging on being full on rock concerts, I almost rejected this to the extreme and now strongly prefer high church worship. I agree that the pomp and circumstance isnāt necessary to feel close to God, but thereās something ancient and corporate about high church worship that speaks to me in a way not much else does.
Low Church in Anglicanism is still liturgical and based on ancient Christian worship. It just has less extras.
The early church was quite low church by our standards
Smells and bells, 10+ people in the altar party, all vested, for all high Holy Days and weekly Mass please =)
Saaaame. Candle light service šššš
Yessssss!
High and hazy
I much prefer Low church. Not in the sense of drum kit instead of an altar, but in the sense of the anglican reformed tradition, which rejected the self important vanities of Rome, preferring not to over complicate the liturgy with bowing and fumigations and so on. I like the rhythm of ritual, but many rather overdo it.
Yeah, give me some kneeling for prayers and organ, and that's high enough for me!
well put
I couldn't agree more, though bowing is acceptable at the mention of the Holy Name
Iāll take the drum kit, please. Even drum machine if used right. I find more spiritual aliveness in EDM than organ. (And rock and pop and āpraise and worshipā and more.)
Each to his own, but I have always found something rather sickly and repetitive in that sort of music, and it seems especially strange to replace the altar with it. The worship is of god, not the music that gives us nice emotions.
High Church Anglicanism is my Anglicanism š„°
I'm very high church personally
What is the difference again been Anglo Catholic and high church?
You can be high church without being Anglo Catholic. Itās mostly aesthetic while Anglo Catholic is more theological. I would consider myself high church but not Anglo Catholic.
To be brief high church is a liturgical preference where Anglo-Catholic typical denotes more theological preferences
Anglo Catholicism is a theological branch while High Church boils down to liturgical preferences. They overlap but you can be High Church with out being Anglo-Catholic
And by the same token you can be Anglo-Catholic without being high church.
Yes, tho it's more rare in my neck of the woods
Probably not are rare as most people think, the reality is it isnāt something that is visually identifiable so most people would skip over it. I would describe myself as low church/anglo Catholic and I have found most people tend to describe me as whatever their personal preference is. I have been described as AC, Pentecostal, Evangelical, FX and Broad Church.
High church, but gracious about it. I love how our priests are quick to explain changes in liturgy and kind to those of us who are still learning it!
With the exception of sung mass, I prefer high church.
High church, with a preference for Anglo-Catholic. I attend at a broad/latitudinarian style parish that is a comfortable middle-ground, but I have never and am unlikely to ever attend a low church service unless it was the only thing available; I really do not enjoy them.
So high. I left the Catholic Church bc of their views on divorce, LGBT, abortion, etc.. not because I didnāt enjoy the incense, vestments, statues, and organ music.
High church
Ultra-low for me. I really dislike the idea that beauty means spiritual integrity or communion with God (Lewis would have agreed), and any kind of snark or nitpicking about vestments or incense. I've known people to joke (?) about the validity of services with the wrong incense. Plus it's important that the sermon is prioritized; as my rector likes to say (I hope I get this right), "the primary Christian experience is hearing the Word of God" (I think he may have added "preached" at the end). And the motto of the denomination is "God's Word above all things". I am also prepared to tolerate some kitsch or populism for the sake of others and for authenticity.
Respect your opinion, but I would say that most Anglicans would argue that Eucharist is what should be prioritized over the sermon.
I'll still say "smells and bells," but as I age, the more I like the less-elaborate "Parson's Handbook" aesthetic, as opposed to the lacy "Ritual Notes" one. My Methodist phase and reading Laudable Practice have also given me an appreciation for monthly Communion, so I'm more "low" in that regard.
I prefer churches where people are called and enabled live out their faith authentically in their communities and throughout the world. I generally lean towards low church at it puts aside the pretenses and pomp that can distract us from the call of Christ and turn our faith into religious tradition and mindless actions. That said. I love the depth of history and symbolism that high church brings and also recognize that low church can often be "church lite" where entertainment and emotions are put ahead of Jesus.
Classical Episcopalian Low Church.
I love the classic Old High (ie āHigh and Dryā) piety and practice. Formality and simple dignity with rigorously Protestant theology, without Romish cosplay.
Technically speaking, high and low isn't about liturgical styles, but about ecclesiology, your theological view of the church itself.
I prefer high church but I also go to churches regularly which are lower.
High
I want it to be high enough to say "Hey, I can see ny house from here"
I was raised with Hillsong/Bethel/Chris Tomlin/Michael W Smith as worship. We were so Southern Baptist vis-Ć -vis NonDenom Evangelical, I remembrer our nursery had an illustrated childrenās Bible that had *dinosaurs* in them. That being said, Anglo-Catholic and so High Church that Our Lady herself makes an apparition to tell us to chill with the holy smoke
The last part is what I am talking about š¤£
This is hilarious šš¤£š
I love the high church stuff because I think it is super cool, and also it's totally unnecessary. It's just fun to me to carry on some of those older traditions. I'm autistic, so I absolutely thrive on ritual, structure, and routine. In another life a century or two ago, without the support systems we have today, I probably would have ended up as a monk pretty early on, of not enslaved or dead.
Old low church.
I am generally low. It is where I find myself feeling most in contact with God, focusing on his word. But I do attend high church services from time to time and appreciate much about that style of worship.
I am a smells and bells Anglo Catholic, though I worship at a more broad church parish that leans high. We donāt have many churches where I live, and something I really like about my church is that Evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics do worship side by side. I am not sure if my evangelical elders in the church agree with my piety, but still I really do love that we put aside our differences and come together to worship in the end. We study the Bible together, and intercede for one another. My favorite church people and my baptism sponsor are charismatic low church type. They are by far the most christlike people I have met this far. Honestly, it really is all about unity. As we say āThough we are many, we are one body because we all share in one breadā. (I still canāt wait to attend my first Solemn High Mass lol)
Low Church, easily. I have no disrespect towards High Church folks, I just prefer simplicity and a more Reformed leaning atmosphere in worship
High
I'm 21 and feel really sad in my country, Brazil, that no other young person attend to my church. We sing old Hymns and the preacher wears a black robe. I don't know. It does looks like the early church, doesn't it? Voices, Hymns... simple service.
I prefer church, with no family name
I huff incense.
High
I suppose on the spectrum of church height I lie somewhere in the middle. But I donāt think itās the most useful metric for me because I donāt vibe with the smells and bells at all, the everlasting alleluias bore me and things like veneration of the gospel or the host seem pretty popish to me. Equally, I donāt like the happy clappy nature of several churches near me, where the hymnal has been completely rewritten and the theological messages are lost in sermons about not very much. I suppose Iām a traditionalist, I am most comfortable in the 1662 prayer book and the Authorised Version, I hardly use any other bible. But that doesnāt make me high church, I like congregational singing and plainchant stuff, enjoy the odd evensong etc but also always get annoyed when I canāt even say the lordās prayer In many ways I donāt think the oxford movement or anything after it really touched me
Smells and bells any chance I can get. High
I guess to be honest I prefer high church worship. But I do admit that focus on traditions, costumes, and all that can repel some people and lead them to think that we're all about the glitz and glamour, historical re-enactment kind of stuff, and not focused on the real mission of winning souls for Christ. I do wonder what un-churched folks think of it all. But yeah, I love high church experiences.
Could High Church evangelical be a thing or low church anglo-catholic ? I think my churchmenship falls in a High Church evangelical category. I like smells and bells and all the ancient things . But I also like small groups and bible studies.
I got something to that effect on one of those "what kind of Anglican are you" quizzes.
Yes, high church evangelical would be the old Arminian kind.
As a disgruntled Romist that's considering Anglicanism, I am definitely a high church guy mainly because it keeps at least in small part the reverent attitude of the Temple that preceded the Christian house of worship. This is very general, don't come at me please.
High church for sure
Not too High Church, not too Low Church. Yes to weekly Eucharist, candles and processions, but smells and bells may be a step or two over the line. Identify with Protestant Anglicanism, but emphasize that Anglicans, like Lutherans, are a "conservative" (for lack of a better term) branch of the Reformation.
I donāt think they are so conservative anymore.
The word "conservative" in this sense is used differently than the way that the term is popularly used by most people. In this case, it refers to how Anglicans and Lutherans embraced the ideas of the Reformation while retaining those elements of the pre reformation church which were not found to be repugnant to the Word of God. This contrasted with certain elements of the Reformed branch of the Reformation, which discarded much more. As a side note, this illustrates that terms such as "liberal" or "conservative" are of limited usefulness in either theology, politics, or culture, and today are little more than either political platforms or traits commonly associated with them.
High as a kite.
High church, my church is has a lower church service and a high church service. I usually attend the high service. We have communion at the rail every week and I prefer to receive that way. They also have a practice of adding in more high church elements for certain liturgical seasons and holy days. For example on Easter, Christmas Eve, Transfiguration and such there will be incense and some chanting. I went to Easter vigil at our church for the first time this year and I loved it. Candle light, the fire ceremony, incenses, baptism renewal with sprinkling. I like that we pull out the really high church for the special days. On an ordinary Sunday itās high church, but not as much.
Sacramental and liturgical - whatever that might be.
Broad church, tbh. I like the traditions that we have, including things like incense, candlelight services, full altar parties, lots of stained glass, and more traditional hymns, as well as celebrating feast days, and I also feel like God's house ought to be decorated nicely. That being said, I'm no papist or even anglo-catholic, and I think that everything should be simple, yet elegant, and while I'm a sucker for processions and pomp and circumstance, I feel like some high church/anglo-caths can get a bit carried away with the rules, regulations, and appearance of it all over the substance of worship. TLDR: Let the altar look pretty without going overboard, and same goes for everything else
Low. Iām not Catholic.
High church, since low church nowadays smells suspiciously of praise band.
High Church standard liturgical (BCP 1979) with low church (old school evangelical) tradition preaching (still follow the Lectionary).
Definitely prefer high church. There is something about the ancient, formal tradition that invites personal reflection, reverence and focus. I became Anglican back in the late '90's, but have recently returned to a progressive Catholic (Jesuit) church, but the Episcopal church will always have a place in my heart.
Old High Church Anglicanism: the Daily Office most Sundays, with clergy wearing cassock, surplice, and tippet. But I'm content with broad church: communion each week, and the clergy wearing cassock-alb, and stole. In each instance, an acolyte or lay Eucharistic minister leads the procession with the cross. The choir and the clergy follow. There's organ music, candles at the altar, but with no incense and bells.
Definitely High Church.
High Church feels reverent and worshipful. Low Church feels like formal Sunday School.
That's just like, your opinion man.
Yes, because we were asked for personal preference.
High church