I expect that many of you are unclear regarding what Low-Church Anglican is. Therefore, what follows is a primer explaining not only the nature of Low-Church but also Anglicanism in general. Here it goes: Anglicanism is an expression of catholic Christianity established in 16th Century England within the context of the Protestant Reformation of which it bears the influence. That’s a sentence-full, but it’s a start. Anyhow, the consensus is that it is the most idiosyncratic expression of Christianity period. I agree. In fact, I think calling it ‘idiosyncratic’ gives Anglicanism too much credit. No, it’s an anomaly; an ecclesial automobile resembling the DIY build in Johnny Cash’s song, One Piece at a Time.
Anglicanism is ridiculously idiosyncratic partly because it wasn’t a new denominational distinction like those corresponding to the likes of Martin Luther and John Calvin but is a product of schism with Rome driven far more by King Henry VIII’s (1491 – 1547) desire for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (1485 – 1536) than any theological or ecclesial dispute. In other words, Catholic dogma was never the problem. It was Henry’s desire for a male heir. In fact, he was actually a staunch opponent of Protestantism. Yet, he failed to convince Pope Clement VII to grant the annulment requested, and so he separated the Church of England from Rome as an entity unto its own with himself as its supreme head, but in every other way keeping it Catholic. Would you believe it if I told you Henry VIII finally got the annulment he wanted?
That a temporal ruler is head of an ecclesial entity is absolutely absurd and alone is enough to make any church idiosyncratic. Even so, given Henry VIII’s mentality and temperament, Might-made-Right in the first half of 16th Century England. Thus, Catholic-in-everything-but-the-Pope proto-Anglicanism got its start. However, there were many twists and turns.
When Henry VIII died in 1547, his son Edward VI (1537 – 1553) ascended the throne, making him the next supreme head of the Church of England. But Edward VI was raised Protestant, and during his brief reign the Church of England embraced Calvinism. Genevan influence, though, was soon partially reversed when Edward VI died in 1553 and his half-sister Mary (1516 – 1558), the daughter of Catherine of Aragon and a Catholic, succeeded him and rejoined Canterbury and York to Rome. Well, Bloody Mary didn’t last long either. When she died in 1558, her half-sister Elizabeth (1533 – 1603), the daughter of Anne Boleyn (c. 1501 – 1536) and a Protestant, ascended the throne. Good Queen Bess subsequently enjoyed a very long and productive reign that nurtured a Golden Age during which the Church of England became Protestant again.
It wasn’t easy-going for Elizabeth, though. On the one hand, she had to contend with Catholic resistance within both the episcopate and the nobility. On the other, she had to deal with the Puritans, who desired a radical return to Calvinistic Protestantism. Elizabeth probably was closer to the Catholic position. Yet, the balance of power between the two camps was too even for either of them to be ignored. For this reason, she instituted what is now known as the Elizabethean Religious Settlement, aiming in nearly every direction to strike a compromise acceptable to all parties. And it worked. Thus, Anglicanism – the Sweet Middle Way – was born.
There is so much more – the Stuarts and the ascendancy of the ‘Anglo-Catholic’ wing followed by its undoing and Calvinism’s heyday as a consequence of the English Civil War; the Restoration of the Monarchy and the second ‘Anglo-Catholic’ ascendancy followed by the threat of the return of undiluted Catholicism put to rest by the Glorious Revolution; 18th Century Wesleyan Methodism; and then the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement of the 1830s, etc. On top of it all, much of the Anglican Communion as it is in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States has turned apostate in recent years. And on and on and on it goes.
But even when parameterized by The Faith “once delivered unto the saints” and summarized by the Nicene Creed with all theological liberalism excluded, Anglicanism is still hard to pin down. It’s Catholic. It’s Protestant. It’s the Sweet Middle Way, or if you like, the Muddle in the Middle made of Christians who look like Catholics but talk like Protestants or vice versa.
Honestly, the description of Anglicanism given still leaves it a mess. Therefore, I recommend focusing on churchmanship. It’s the simplest, most intuitive rubric to help make sense of it all. Here, we first have ‘High Church’ and ‘Low Church.’ The former is Anglo-Catholic. The latter is Evangelical Protestant, which is the bin that my mother’s people fall in. But if that isn’t enough, there’s one more distinction and that is ‘Broad Church.’ Today, the classification encompasses liberalism. Traditionally, though, it simply meant the liturgically latitudinarian and theologically Nicene but charmingly absent-minded.
Incidentally, absent-mindedness is sort of an English cultural trait. I mean they developed a wonderful constitution – a fusion of Celtic, French (Nous parlons français. / Parliament / Get it?), and Germanic sensibilities. But then they forgot to write it down.
In sum, rarely do Anglicans offer the best answers. We leave that to the Roman Catholics and Presbyterians. Yet if we’re High Church, we’re stylish and dignified. If we’re Low Church, we’re stalwart and whole-hearted. And if we’re Broad Church, we’re witty and urbane – the type of people you want at your cocktail party. Make mine a gin and tonic in a rocks glass: one large ice-cube, one measure Bombay Sapphire, two measures Schweppes, and a generous wedge of lime.
Of course, the last of the three is something you know just by drinking in Good Queen Bess’s position regarding the Eucharist:
Christ was the word that spake it.
He took the bread and break it;
And what his words did make it,
That I believe and take it.
The fact is that Elizabeth’s goal in formulating her position on the Eucharist, which she expressed in her rhyme above, was to keep all interested parties – those avowing the real presence of Christ (some holding to transubstantiation and others to consubstantiation); those avowing the pneumatic presence; and those avowing no presence at all – satisfied enough to forego causing problems. One clever bird, Elizabeth was. And many a bird dog tried his best to corner her, but she eluded every one of them.
All of it puts me in the mood for another gin and tonic. Moreover, you’re welcome to join me. Yes, either the Sweet Middle Way that defers to Rome, the most visible expression of the Christian faith, or the Muddle in the Middle that generates hymns like And Can It Be That I Should Gain, expressing just as strong an assurance of salvation as any Presbyterian anthem – whatever you believe Anglicanism to be (providing that it’s Nicene), I’ll drink to that…and Brexit, too!
Postscript
Where do I fall on the Anglican spectrum? Theologically, I’m Anglo-Catholic, but I have an emotional attachment to Low Church. The latter conjures memories – of my grandfather (the Rev. Glenn D. Jones), my mother, campmeeting, etc.
During my busy Summer season, it’s impossible for me to attend a Sunday morning Anglican Mass. Yet, I believe it’s important to give God His due, and so I often take advantage of the Saturday late afternoon Mass at various Roman Catholic churches throughout the eastern and southern Adirondacks. The particular one depends on where I’m working as a fly-fishing guide that day. While I can’t receive the Eucharist, I’m nonetheless right at home with the RC’s.
Honestly, I hold to the ethos of Mere Christianity. I suppose that makes me a de facto Roman Catholic. But if a group – whether Protestant, Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox, etc. – sincerely avows that which is confessed by the Nicene Creed, then I will extend my right hand.
Article 1 Introduction
Article 2 Ecclesial Postmodernism
Article 3 Men
Article 4 The Odds
Article 5 Argument from Beauty
Article 6 The Trinity in the Taconics
Article 7 Not By Spirit Alone
Article 8 A Tough Sell
Article 9 A Tight Fix
Article 10 Catch More Fish!
Fieldsports and The Faith Vignettes