[utahagen]

I think "Broad Church" originally (a hundred years ago) meant doctrinally liberal, which is why these churches were facetiously called "broad and hazy".

[AnAmericanMother]

Actually, "Broad Church" is what you might call the cafeteria crowd - although on points of practice not doctrine. They tend to take some practices from the high end and some from the low end, and to be pretty much tolerant of a wide range. A typical broad church congregation may have a good deal of pomp in the service, but also emphasize the preaching, or it may have a very simple service but do individual confessions as well. Parishioners tend to gravitate to the church that fits where they are on the "high"-"low" continuum.

But it's mostly surface stuff. All Episcopalians use the same prayer book (although you'll find that "high" churches tend to use Rite I and "low" churches Rite II). The only serious doctrinal point that I can find any disagreement on is the Real Presence. High says yes, Low says no.

The XXXIX Articles at this point are more of a historical curiosity than anything else. They are highly colored by the politics of the reign of Elizabeth I . . . and they were removed from the latest revision of the prayer book as a statement of belief - they are now styled a "historical document".

This was necessary because of some of the frankly anti-Catholic language contained therein . . . the first time we went to church as a married couple (a LONG time ago!), we wound up at an ultramontane church in Atlanta - perhaps "the" ultramontane church in the metro area - and my husband kept asking me during the service "do you believe in [incense, the Rosary, etc.]" I would respond, "Some of us do, some of us don't. It's o.k." Then Fr. Roy Pettway (now retired and may no longer be with us - this was over 25 years ago) climbed into the pulpit and preached on Purgatory (on Easter, yet!) Hubby asked, "Do you believe in that?" I replied that I didn't think so and flipped to the XXXIX articles - which denounce it as a "vain and Popish doctrine, fondly invented" - and said, "Nope . . . apparently not, but apparently HE thinks so . . . " I told my dad about this episode, and he just rolled his eyes and said, "Well, that's Roy!"