As with Evangelicalism, Anglo Catholicism comes in a variety of flavours.  When the Church of England was created from the Roman Catholic Church it self described as Reformed and Catholic.  Whilst Evangelicalism focuses more on the Reformed side of the equation, so Anglo Catholicism focuses more on the Catholic side.

As an outsider, Anglo Catholicism appears to focus more on worship than on theology, with very strict rules on what is and isn’t “proper”.  Value is given to what the other historic churches (Roman Catholic and Orthodox) believe, and in moving in step with them.

Sacraments are seen as more important than in other strands of Christianity, as they are seen as the means of salvation.  This leads to the importance of valid sacraments, which leads to concern over the nature of priests and bishops.  However, not all Anglo Catholics reach the same conclusions on these matters.

Forward in Faith is one Anglo Catholic organisation, opposed to the ordination of women.

Affirming Catholicism is another, although in favour of women’s ordination.

The Society of Catholic Priests is another group in favour of women’s ordination.

If you have followed the links, like me, you may have been frustrated to find that there is little explanation of what is believed, beyond:

We are committed to the catholic faith as the Church of England received it, and to proclaiming it afresh in this generation.

Anglo Catholics focus more on tradition, but I have struggled to find much explanation of this, unlike among evangelical organisations.

Alan