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Roots of Anglican Streams: Part 1 (Anglo Catholic)

Husband, Child, and I have been in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) for almost two years as of the writing of this post. One of the interesting things we learned about the denomination is its emphasis on having a "wide tent" in worship. What does this mean?

What is Anglicanism, Anyway?


A simple definition of Anglicanism is the broad Christian tradition originating in England (consistent with the word's etymology) and identifiable as similar to today's church body starting in the Protestant Reformation. That said, depending on location the various branches of Anglicanism, practices and doctrines can vary quite widely, so long as each congregation holds to the Thirty-Nine Articles and uses the Book of Common Prayer for individual, family, and corporate worship.

What do the Thirty-Nine Articles Teach?


The Articles (which have varied in number over the years) are an outline of Anglicanism's core doctrines--those without believing and agreeing with which one cannot be an Anglican. Key areas covered by the Articles are:
  • Trinity and each person of the Godhead, including Christ's bodily resurrection
  • Scripture (listing canonical and apocryphal books) containing everything needed for salvation
  • Nicene and Apostles' Creeds as accepted statements of the Christian faith and faithful summaries of Scripture--indeed, each phrase in each Creed has direct Scripture reference(s)
  • Original sin in every person (except Christ), including the regenerate (Christians), and free will free only to refuse God
  • Justification occurs by faith (in Christ alone) in line with single predestination, and good works are pleasing to God after one is justified, within the scope of the Ten Commandments
  • Sin is possible after baptism and can be forgiven
  • The Christian Church is defined and has authority to prescribe ceremonies and settle controversies related to the faith
  • Purgatory is made up; congregational worship must be in the local language; ministers may only serve with a call
  • The two sacraments Christ instituted (Baptism and the Lord's Supper) create and strengthen faith of participants; they are effective even if the minister is evil (though bishops should ensure good ministers in congregations). Baptism includes infants and is the way by which people are made Christians (brought into the church). The elements of the Supper are eaten as Christ being truly present by those with faith.
  • The Mass is not a re-sacrifice. Priests may marry. Excommunication is permitted.
  • Some variation in worship practices is permitted. Ministers should edify themselves by reading from the Book of Homilies.
  • Within the Church, authority is episcopal, while civil government has authority over all non-spiritual matters, including requiring Christians to take an oath for testifying. Individual Christians should be generous but there is no common ownership of property.

What is the History of the ACNA?


The Anglican Church in North America is a 2009 offshoot of the Anglican Communion. Some Anglican denominations (Episcopal Church-USA and Anglican Church-Canada) had adopted non-traditional positions on ordaining open homosexuals. It holds to the Thirty-Nine Articles and uses the 2019 Book of Common Prayer, as well as having developed a 2024 hymnal as a revision of the 1982 Episcopalian hymnal.

At its start, it had about 100,000 members and is currently above 125,000. While it does not bless same-sex unions and does not ordain non-heterosexual clergy, it leaves it up to the individual diocese as to whether to ordain women as priests (all dioceses do ordain women as deacons). It is currently in full fellowship with most Anglican churches in Africa and South America.

How does the ACNA Relate to Other Denominations?


For two denominations to be in "fellowship," they must agree significantly enough in doctrine and governance structure (e.g., episcopal, congregational) that members of one can commune at the other's congregations. The ACNA, as noted above, is in full fellowship with some international Anglican denominations, and has been in talks with US denominations (including LCMS and NALC) to determine whether fellowship is possible.

In the grand scheme of Christian denominations, here's a rough family tree. I'm focusing here on the Church of England (orange branch) and its immediate descendants:
  • Congregational Dissenters
    • Quakers
    • United Church of Christ
    • Willow Creek
  • Baptists
    • Church of God in Christ
    • Millerites
      • Seventh Day Adventists
  • Episcopal
    • ACNA (not shown due to currency of denomination)
  • Methodist
    • Salvation Army
    • Church of God Indiana
    • Holiness Churches
      • Church of the Nazarene
      • Assemblies of God
      • Church of God
      • International Foursquare
        • Calvary Chapel
          • Vineyard Fellowship (my parents attended for about 5-6 years when I was young before resuming attendance in the LCMS of which they are lifelong members)
        • Potter's House

The AngloCatholic Stream


Anglo-Catholicism is a branch or stream of Anglicanism. Though most sources list Anglicanism as stemming mainly from the Protestant Reformation, this stream emphasizes the Roman Catholic aspect of its heritage, without itself being Roman Catholic. I find value in this emphasis because it reminds us that the Christian Church didn't start when we were born--it has a continuous history back to Jesus Christ. To emphasize throughout this trio of posts, there are not three "types" of ACNA churches--each of the three streams is present in each congregation, in more (ideally) or less harmony with the other streams, though a particular congregation may have more members who prefer traditions from one stream.

Brief History


In the 19th century, the Oxford Movement of academics put forth writings ("tracts" hence the name "Tractarian") detailing how the Anglican Church stood in the continuous tradition of Christianity. This sense of "catholic" promoted was "universal" (the same sense as one sees in the Creeds in translation). Because Anglo-Catholicism holds fundamentally different philosophical propositions than Roman Catholocism, the former does not logically lead to the latter.

A commonly used term for Anglo-Catholic is High Church, in contrast to Low Church (Evangelical). However, there is not a 1-to-1 correspondence between the terms. Anglo-Catholics have distinctive theological emphases (e.g., preaching according to the liturgy rather than always preaching according to the lectionary), while to be High Church is broader. High-Church is actually a feature of English Protestantism and can thus be seen, say, in some LCMS churches that combine adherence to the same liturgy every week, near-maximal chanting what can be chanted, using incense if congregation members can physically and psychologically tolerate it, and selecting hymns from solidly within the hymnal as representative of the theological tradition.

What a AC-Focused Congregation Looks Like





Anglo-Catholicism (first source in section) uses a compass metaphor to describe the Church.
  • North pole: Christ Jesus
  • East pole: Creeds and the Bible (creeds preceded the written biblical text combining Old and New Testaments, and summarize core doctrines contained in the Bible)
  • South pole: Church's ministry of bringing people to Christ
  • West point: the Sacraments ("moral instruments and not magical"). These may be listed as sacraments of Christ (Baptism, Communion) and of the Church (Confirmation, Penance, Ordination, Matrimony, and Unction)
Flowing out of these practices, a typical Anglo-Catholic congregation has these features:
  • Focus on involving all the senses because external expression of the sacramental nature of worship
  • Meaningful spiritual symbols including incense, bells ringing at certain times in the service, altar lights/candles, and a chalice with mixed wine and water
  • Eastward orientation of the sanctuary with a somewhat more elaborate or symbolic altar (one AC congregation we occasionally visit has a giant crown of thorns above their round-ish altar that communicants can assemble completely around)
Here's what I've written over at The Renaissance Biologist about Anglo-Catholicism: summary of roots of the streams, update on Surprised by Hope class discussion. What has been your experience and perception of "high church" worship? Feel free to share in the comments section!
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