On Churchmanship

The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

O GOD, who declarest thy almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Mercifully grant unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we, running the way of thy commandments, may obtain thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

When speaking of Anglicanism, there is broad diversity in style of worship, and even shockingly to some outsiders, of doctrine and theology. Often times, the understanding of Anglicanism is rooted in Churchmanship, a broad summation of that style of worship which itself is usually, but not always, a reflection of the doctrine and theological perspective of the Anglican in question.

There is an oversimplification here, but it can be traced back to the reality that originally there did tend to be a strong association between High and Low Churchmanship and the Evangelical and Anglo-Catholic understandings of Anglicanism.

Prior to the 19th century, the practice of Anglicanism had become what today would be viewed as very Low Church. Altars were bare, priests wore very plain vestments. This reflected the Puritan influences from the 17th century wherein there was a stress on the personal relationship between parishioner and God. Ritual was viewed as something that separated the individual from God. At the same time that Anglicanism’s Catholicity was being highlighted by the Oxford Movement in the early 19th century, the ritualist movement appeared in response, giving liturgical expression to the theologies being developed that emphasized more corporate worship.

Straddling between the two extremes of High and Low Churchmanship were a myriad of groupings. Central Churchmanship involved a conservative and sometimes evangelical theology, but a much higher level of ritual than in standard Low Churchmanship. Latitudinarianism gave birth to Broad Churchmanship which today, sadly, encompasses many Anglicans.

Latitudinarianism was a pejorative term used to describe a movement that arose in the 17th century that stressed the idea of the Church of England as a civic expression of spirituality. The Church had a necessary role in the expression of spirituality, the cultivation of morality and so on, thus subscription to the Church of England itself was essential, however the doctrines, liturgy and practices were far less important as there could be, for the Latitudinarians, other sources. This was the source of the name: adherents argued that greater latitude be given to the practice of the Church in order to promote unity at a time following the English civil wars through to the Glorious Revolution of Parliament in 1688—an extremely unstable and turbulent time in English history.

There was often an association between Latitudinarianism and heterodoxy, as one might suppose given there often times rejection of orthodox doctrines and the supremacy of Scripture, and over the centuries the term Broad has tended to supplant Latitudinarianism to describe this form of Churchmanship. Unlike Low or High Churchmanship, Broad Churchmanship does not subscribe to a particular style of worship, but is generally associated at the very least with Liberal theology and often modernism.

In modern Broad Churchmanship, this has tended towards a revival of the view of the Church as merely the ‘nation at prayer’ and thus the doctrines of the Church can be informed by the philosophical values of the nation. In a more technical sense, modern philosophy, scientific understanding and hermeneutics are applies to the understanding of Scripture, which again holds less authoritative value, rather than the opposite which would generally be expected in more conservative theologies.

Because of this theological underpinning, which can see even a rejection of the statements of the Creeds, it is not difficult to see how both low and high practices can be incorporated. While there is a tendency towards High Church liturgical practices, due to the inherent beauty in the liturgy itself, Broad Churchmanship can also find expression in lower liturgical practices.

Discounting the heterodoxy of Broad Churchmanship, and recognizing that while less institutionally prone it can occur anywhere, each form of Churchmanship holds merit. The fact that each does hold merit does not mean, however, that one is not superior to another.

The question then becomes one of examining the purposes and suppositions of each form of Churchmanship, and the purposes of Holy Communion (and other gatherings) where the liturgy becomes an expression of that Churchmanship and thus that theology.

Worship is about ascribing worth to something or someone. According to JI Packer:

Worship is looking Godward and celebrating the worth—that is the praiseworthiness—of what we see. The Bible calls this activity glorifying God, or giving glory to God. “Glory” means, first, divinity on display, (the glory God shows us) and then, the response we make to God for this honour.

So when Christians gather on Sundays and in context Anglicans in particular, we do so first and foremost to ascribe worth to God by glorifying him. Anglican Churchmanship then is the response to the question of, “how do we glorify God and show his immeasurable worth?”

The Psalmists tell us all creation worships the Lord. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Ps 19. 1) If all creation worships God, how can it in and of itself become a barrier to worshipping Him? We are called to worship God with all that we are (Mk 12. 30), and through the use of ritual we are able to reflect that. Forms of worship that engage the full senses and which worship God not merely in raised voices, but with smells and sights and even our very posture, recognizing that all creation worships God with us.

It is also worth noting that Church, the House of Prayer of the Lord, is a place for corporate worship. We come before God not simply as individuals, but as adopted sons and daughters in His family, members of a community of faith and the communion of saints.

The theology expressed in High Churchmanship is one that emphasizes a high view of God and his created world, and offers it all back to Him in due worship.