Parties.— The work of the Church has been largely missionary; its clergy, men of affairs rather than theologians. It has produced no pe culiar school of thought, but has reflected the theological developments of England and Ger many. There have been, generally speaking, three types of Churchmen, known respectively as High Church, Low Church and Broad Church. Each of these has emphasized some one side of Church teaching and has not es caped the dangers of one-sided partisanship.
The Low Church represented the 18th cen tury revival in the Church of England which took the form of Evangelicalism within the Church and Methodism without. The truths which it emphasized were the absolute depend ence of the spiritual life on the person of Christ, the need of conversion, the reality of grace and purely instrumental character of "ordinances." The Atonement was the central fact in Evangelical theology. (Men of this school were also noted for promoting the cause of foreign missions). The Evangelicals were dominant until the middle of the 19th century. They were strenuous in opposing High Church teaching as being thinly disguised "Popery." High Church principles were brought to the fore by the Tractarian (Oxford) Movement which began in 1833. These were the assertion of the character of the Church as a divine so ciety, the special sphere of the working of the Holy Spirit ; of the character of sacraments as veritable means of grace; of the central place in Christian worship of the Holy Eucharist. Among the more obvious results in this move ment were increased reverence and beauty in church services, increased parochial activity, es among the poor ; the revival of frequent mists and (to some extent) of auricular confession. The later stages of the movement produced a party of Ritualists. They differed from the early Tractarians. Their ritual was largely in imitation of the Latin rite, whereas their predecessors copied a Laudian model; their ideals were medieval rather than patristic. The early Tractarians sought to revive the teachings and spirit of the first four centuries, the ritualists to reproduce the picturesque ex ternals of the 14th. Both sections of the party emphasized the "sacramental principle" in Chris tianity and made the Incarnation rather than the Atonement the central fact in their theology.
Parallel with the Oxford Movement was the development of what is variously described as the Liberal Theology or Latitudinarianism. The Broad Church platform is based on the funda mental truth of the Fatherhood of God. It is well described in words of its most distinguished American representative, Phillips Brooks: "The broader theology, which had its masters in England in such men as Dr. Arnold and the
Rev. Frederick D. Maurice, has likewise had its clear and powerful effect upon the Episcopal Church. A lofty belief in man's spiritual pos sibilities, a large hope for man's eternal des tinies, a desire for the careful and critical study of the Bible, and an earnest insistence on the comprehensive character of the Church or Christ—These are the characteristics of much of the most zealous pulpit teaching and parish life in these later days? Broad Churchmen de sire to vindicate the rational character of Chris tianity, to develop its philosophic side, to bring formal statements of the faith into accord with modern knowledge and modern thought. They find themselves much in sympathy with the early theology of Alexandria and more or less opposed to the type of mind represented by Augustine.
There has been conflict between representa tives of these several schools, not concerning positive principles but concerning their re spective negations. Too often zeal for a half truth has denied or disparaged another half truth. In retrospect it seems easy to see that the special principles of the three schools are equally part of the Church's teaching. The dif ference between them is largely one of em phasis. They divide the Creed between them. The Church Catechism contains a question, "What doss thou chiefly learn by these articles of thy belief ?° The answer is: "First, I learn to believe in God the Father, who hath made me and all of the world; secondly, in God the Son, who hath redeemed me and all mankind; thirdly, in God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth me and all the people of God." This suggests a generalization which may characterize High, Low and Broad Church. Each has emphasized one section of the Creed, and, at times, failed to do justice to the others. The Broad Church are concerned for the Fatherhood of God, the moral and philosophical basis of Christian truth. The Low Church are chiefly concerned to pre sent Christ as Redeemer and the Centre of all their thought. The High Church have had to emphasize a neglected portion of the Creed, belief in the Holy Ghost, the Sanctifier, in Church and Sacraments as ordained means of union with Christ. The best men of the various schools have never been mere partisans. Party lines are now less clearly defined. The tendency is to combine truths, to cultivate an all-round Churchmanship, which has more than one di mension.