I'm in a church...

[LifeIsGoodish]

How do I know what sort of church it is?

I think it's a Catholic church - but I'm not a Christian. My friend thinks it is an Anglican church - but then she's not a Christian, either.

So how do we tell?

(Either way, it's a lovely space.)

How can you be in a church and not know what it is?

Because I'm here to listen to a concert and I'm not Christian.

Maybe the OP is the ghost of a pre Reformation knight long buried in the crypt.

or she's there for a concert

It is really hard to tell. I've been in quite modern RC churches and v traditional Victorian architecture Baptist churches. I would Google it.

I would guess at high anglican as Catholic churches don't tend to have concerts and events in the actual church (to my knowledge). The easiest way to find out is to Google though.

Are you at Union Chapel OP?

My church is Anglican so C of E. It has a statue of Mary and stations of the cross. It also has a sanctuary light. It looks very RC but it isn't. It used to be Anglo Catholic but isn't anymore. It is confusing. Google is your friend.

Maybe the OP is the ghost of a pre Reformation knight long buried in the crypt

If you're in England and the church is pre-1850 it's Protestant. There were very few Catholic churches (virtually none outside London) in England before that date.

Concert is finished. It was very nice.

So, I've looked on the church's website, and I'm still confused: "Saint Paul's is rooted in the Catholic tradition of the Church of England". But I thought CofE meant Protestant?

If you're in England and the church is pre-1850 it's Protestant. There were very few Catholic churches (virtually none outside London) in England before that date.

I do know what you mean, but (as one of the group who nicked the churches off the Catholics in the sixteenth century), I do feel bound to point out some people would disagree!

It must mean High Anglican but yes, not exactly crystal clear!

Ah.

There's a thing called Anglo-Catholic faith. It's a form of Anglicanism (Church of England) that is pretty close to Catholicism. At various points, members of the Anglican Church envisaged reuniting with the Catholics.

There's some debate over whether or not you'd called Anglicans strictly 'Protestant' anyway. Some people would say anyone who isn't Catholic or Orthodox (Coptic etc) is Protestant; others - notably some Anglicans - would say the Church of England is a development rather than a protest.

Cross post.

No, High Anglican and Anglo-Catholic are not the same. Liturgically they are quite similar (smells and bells, prayers to saints, etc.), but whereas Anglo-Catholic Churches tend to be socially fairly conservative, High Anglicans are one of the more inclusive branches of the C of E (feminist, LGBT-friendly, etc.).

FWIW, the Anglican Church as a whole (AFAIK) uses the version of the Creed in which people declare their faith in 'one holy catholic and apostolic church,' and sometimes Anglican churches use the word catholic in this sense (from the Greek meaning all-encompassing, rather than Roman Catholic).

Interesting. Never heard of Anglo-Catholics in that case!

Catholic Churches are often more modern and newer.

I think you might have entered a Reformation Protestant Church. It is the type of church that is in communion with Church of England that is closest to the Roman practices.

Often a Catholic Church can be identifiable because it will have images and statuary of the Virgin Mary and confessionals. Holy water at the entrance suggests Catholicism as does a red light over the sanctuary signifying the presence of the body or blood of Christ. These wouldn’t be found in most Anglican churches.

Are you in Edinburgh @LifeIsGoodish?

Definitely look around for our lady (Mary) if she’s very much in evidence then you’re in a Catholic Church

If it is catholic then there's going to be a statue of Mary, if it's c of e it could of many styles but traditional ones will be more like catholic minus Mary

Seen update - Anglo Catholic is the more traditional type of churches within cofe most of the catholic traditions minus the pope. Think about Henry viii - he split from Rome. They vary still but think robes, choirs, incense and proper organ

Do you think the Anglo-Catholics still whisper amongst themselves about how abominably Catherine of Aragon was treated?

SE England.

Choir - yes
Organ - yes
Mary, statues - no
Mary, side-chapel - yes
Red light over altar - yes
Holy water at entrance - no (at least, I didn't notice any)

Confused? - yes.
Does it matter? - no.

Just interesting

Did it have a confessional booth?
Catholic Churches usually do