How do higher Anglicans explain the Lord’s Supper. I know they believe it to be the body and blood of Jesus, and even have adoration, but how do they explain the transformation. Do they also use the theology of in personae Christi? Do they allow female priests in the high Anglicanism (if so how do they make sense of it in light of their Eucharistic theology)?
Also, do they think of the Eucharist as a sacrifice, mainly a meal, both, or… ?
What does the middle, or broad, and Low Church teach concerning these same questions?
(I am mainly interested in the high and broad church so a lot of explanation concerning the low church is not needed/wanted)
You address a wide range of subjects.
In brief, the answers are yes, no, maybe, sometimes, and it depends.
I see you are aware of the range of positions in classical Anglicanism, from what you are calling Low to what you are calling High. This is a fairly traditional way of referring to the spectrum though I prefer to reserve it for the range of “churchmanship” (how the liturgy is done) and use Evangelical/Anglo-Catholic (with some fine tuning) to refer to the range of doctrine (what is taught and believed. The two ranges overlap a good deal; Low is usually evangelical in tone, High churchmanship is almost always Anglo-Catholic in doctrine, but there is a distinction. Which I will ignore.
Anglo-Catholics are certainly those most likely to affirm the Real Presence, and to observe benediction. The explanation (the “how”) of the Real Presence (the “what”) will vary. Most will not try to explain it at all. following the Orthodox in calling it a Mystery. Which it certainly is. Others will affirm Trent, session XIII and classical Transubstantiation. The point is that neither position is
de fide. That’s true of a lot of things.
The same is true for the issue of the priest as the
alter Christi; the further over to the Anglo-Catholic side, the more you will find such language used. As in my parish.
There is no such thing as a female priest, but you will find females in sacerdotal garments across the range of Anglican belief, execpt in those little corners which have separated themselves from official Anglicanism, over that very point. As in my parish.
Most Anglicans will recognise the Eucharist as a sacrifice in some sense, the traditional litugy refers to it as such. The issue would be what sacrifce. Among Anglo-Catholics it’s the re-presntation of the sacrifce of Calvary, made present amongst us.
For the low/evangelical side, consider them as functioning protestants but with Apostolic Succession (remember, I’m Anglican, I get to talk like that. Minister, not priest, memorial, not real, and so forth.
As to Broad, don’t worry about it. What ever you want to believe, they will agree. Sincerity is the main issue.
Anglicans are historically difficult to pin down. Add to that the general trend toward heresy that is
au courant, in places, and it gets even murkier.
GKC
