Broad church

Broad church

Broad Church is a term referring to Latitudinarian churchmanship in the Church of England, in particular, and Anglicanism, in general. From this, the term is often used to refer to secular political organisations, meaning that they encompass a broad range of opinion."

After the terms High Church and Low Church came to distinguish the tendency toward Ritualism and Anglo-Catholicism on the one hand and Puritanism on the other, those Anglicans tolerant of multiple forms of conformity to ecclesiastical authority came to be referred to as "Broad." As the name implies, parishes associated with this variety of churchmanship will mix High and Low forms, reflective of the often eclectic liturgical and doctrinal preferences of clergy and laity. The emphasis is on allowing individual parishioners choice.

Broad church as an expression is now increasingly replaced by references in the Church of England to liberalism. For example, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his "text of reflection" "The Challenge and Hope of Being an Anglican Today", released in 2006 [http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr6706.html] , described the three "components in our heritage" as "strict evangelical Protestantism", "Roman Catholicism" and "religious liberalism", accepting that "each of these has a place in the church’s life". These would broadly correspond to the Low Church, High Church and Broad Church parties in the Church of England.

As said above the term can describe the membership of other organisations. When James Callaghan, the Labour Party Prime Minister of the United Kingdom said of his party that "ours is a broad church", he meant that it embraced different strands of labour and socialist tradition.

ee also

*High church
*Low church
*Churchmanship


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  • Broad Church — Broad Churchman. pertaining or belonging to a party in the Anglican Church emphasizing a liberal interpretation of ritual. Cf. High Church, Low Church. * * * ▪ Anglican Communion movement       moderate movement that emerged as one of the three… …   Universalium

  • Broad church — Church Church (ch[^u]rch), n. [OE. chirche, chireche, cherche, Scot. kirk, from AS. circe, cyrice; akin to D. kerk, Icel. kirkja, Sw. kyrka, Dan. kirke, G. kirche, OHG. chirihha; all fr. Gr. kyriako n the Lord s house, fr. kyriako s concerning a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Broad Church — (Eccl.) A portion of the Church of England, consisting of persons who claim to hold a position, in respect to doctrine and fellowship, intermediate between the High Church party and the Low Church, or evangelical, party. The term has been applied …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Broad Church — n. a liberal party of the Anglican Church in the late 19th cent. Broad Church adj. Broad Churchman n. pl. Broad Churchmen …   English World dictionary

  • broad-church — broadˈ church adjective • • • Main Entry: ↑broad * * * Broad Church «BRD CHURCH», adjective. of or having to do with a party in the Anglican Communion that seeks to avoid rigid definitions of dogma and ritual …   Useful english dictionary

  • Broad Church — [ ˌtʃə:tʃ] die; <aus engl. Broad Church, eigtl. »breite Kirche«> liberale Richtung der ↑anglikanischen Kirche im 19. Jh …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • broad church — If an organisation is described as broad church, it is tolerant and accepting of different opinions and ideas …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • Broad-Church — (brôdʹchûrchʹ) adj. Of or relating to members of the Anglican Communion in the late 19th century who favored liberalization of ritual and doctrine. * * * …   Universalium

  • Broad Church — Broad′ Church′ adj. rel pertaining or belonging to a party in the Anglican Church emphasizing a liberal interpretation of ritual …   From formal English to slang

  • Broad Church — (spr. braod tschörtsch), s. Breitkirchliche …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

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