Frequently Asked Questions:


What is Anglo-Catholic?

Anglo-Catholic, also known as High Church or High Anglican is a style of worship practiced within various churches within the Worldwide Anglican Communion. This style of worship can vary between parishes and dioceses although generally speaking, things one might expect in a church which practiced High Anglican worship would be:

- Clergy wearing vestments

- Congregation and clergy genuflecting

- Congregation and clergy making the sign of the cross

- Use of incense

- Use of holy water for general purposes other than just baptism

- Clergy / congregation may refer to the liturgy of the Eucharist as the "Mass"

- Clergy referring to themselves as 'priests' rather than 'ministers'

- Clergy (in this particular case male clergy!) accepting others referring to them as "Father". This of course is applicable after they are ordained as priests. Deacons are not referred to as "Father".


You will notice that going by what is mentioned this would be similar to what one might also expect in a Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox church.




What is the difference between an Anglican Priest and an Anglican Minister?

In respect to ordained clergy, the short answer is simply: There is no difference.

Low church / evangelical clergy (particularly in the diocese of Sydney) prefer to use the term 'minister' or 'presbyter' rather than 'priest'.




What is Low Church?

Generally speaking, Low Church or Evangelical worship is a style of Anglican worship where more emphasis is placed on the church's Protestantism rather than its Catholicism. While this is very broad and can vary from parish to parish, some examples of what might be seen in low church Anglican parishes might be:

- No usage of vestments or minimal usage of vestments

- No manual liturgical gestures such as genuflecting or making the sign of the cross

- Bishops not wearing a mitre during worship services

- Clergy preferring to be acknowledged as ministers rather than priests as the term 'priest' may resonate with Catholicism rather than Protestantism. Male clergy typically do not use the title 'Father' much for the same reasons.

- No use of other liturgical instruments such as incense, candles or bells during the Eucharist.


Of course, not all evangelical / low church parishes are this way inclined. Many do occasionally make the sign of the cross, use vestments and acknowledge their office as priests rather than simply use the term 'minister'. Again, this is just a generalisation. However, focusing specifically on the diocese of Sydney, you will often find those clergy who formally announce themselves as 'Father' are of a parish which is Anglo-Catholic or High Church.




So, are Anglicans Catholic? Or are Anglicans Protestant?

The short answer to that is: Anglicans are both Catholic and Protestant. This goes for both High and Low church Anglicans.


Do Anglo-Catholics support the ordination of women?

Whether a church identifies themselves as High or Low church, this in and of itself often has no bearing on whether or not they support the ordination of women. The Anglican Communion are a very broad communion of churches. Some of which can be High Church which are very conservative to matters such as the ordination of women, others can be Low Church which can be equally as conservative to such matters. There can just as well be (and most certainly are) churches that are High Church and are fully supportive to the ordination of women as well as many Low Church parishes / dioceses which are also fully supportive to the ordination of women.





Are other Anglican dioceses in Australia also predominantly evangelical or Low Church like Sydney?

The Anglican Diocese of Tasmania also is known to also be evangelical / low church. However, all other Anglican dioceses across Australia are predominately Anglo-Catholic. That being said, there are a number of Low Church / evangelical parishes in other parts of Australia outside the dioceses of Sydney and Tasmania.



Who is the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney?

The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney is The Most Reverend Kanishka Raffel.



Who is the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia?

The Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia is The Most Reverend Geoffrey Smith. Archbishop Smith is also the Archbishop of Adelaide, South Australia.



For more information please have a look at the following links which you may find useful:



Wikipedia article - High Church

Wikipedia article - Anglo-Catholic

Wikipedia article - Low Church

Anglican Church of Australia website


YouTube video clip - 'Anglicanism, Churchmanship and the Eucharist' created and posted by Canadian based YouTuber 'Maple Anglican' - (23 minutes) Very interesting video!






YouTube video clip - 'What is Anglicanism?' another video by 'Maple Anglican' (6 minutes)