low church

English

Alternative forms

• Low Church, (adjective) low-church

Etymology

By analogy with high church.

Noun

low church (uncountable)

1. (Anglicanism) A tradition within the Anglican church more heavily influenced by Protestant and Reformed belief and practice, characterised by an informal style of worship, a less elevated view of the priesthood and sacraments, and a focus on evangelical principles.

   Coordinate terms: broad church, high church

2. (by extension) Any similar Christian tradition.

Antonyms

• high church

Related terms

• Low Churchman

Adjective

low church (comparative more low church, superlative most low church)

1. Characteristic of or pertaining to such a tradition.
   • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 16, in The History of Pendennis. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

     What a sly fox that Curate was! He was low-church, and she never liked him.

   • 1858 July, “Where Do Defections to Rome Come from?”, in The American Quarterly Church Review, and Ecclesiastical Register, volume 11, number 2, page 366:

     Dr. Newman and Dr. Manning began with very Low Church principles.

   • 2009, Clayton J. Schmitt, Sent and Gathered: A Worship Manual for the Missional Church, →ISBN, page 13:

     The most high-church worship may be vivid and engaging, while the most low-church or contemporary worship service might be dull and uninspired.