There is a certain tendency among those churches of varied churchmanship to have a very narrow conception of what it means to be "High Church".

This is a particularly apparent phenomenon among Anglicans. It seems almost always when I run across groups identifying as "High Church" or "Anglo-Catholic", they are really simply meaning Anglicans of a bend towards the Roman tradition. I've heard a number of High Church Anglicans complain about this.

So I'm wondering from those who "know better", what does High Church mean to you?

When I think of "high church", I think of organized, structured ceremonies...that partake of communion as believing it is the body and blood of Christ!!!!

"High Church" is really Anglican terminology, which has also been used in other Reformation traditions (e.g. "High Church" Lutherans and Methodists). I don't think it's necessarily about looking more "Roman." There are Romanizing Anglican High Churchmen, but then again there are also High Church Anglicans who look to the pre-Reformation English Church for guidance (e.g. Sarum Use), or to Eastern Orthodoxy (Phil-Orthodox).

Until the mid-20th century it didn't make much sense to apply to Roman Catholicism. These days, given the state of Catholic belief and practice in many places, it might be possible to refer to something like Roman Catholic "low churchmanship." Rather like the old Book of Common Prayer, the reformed Roman Rite can be celebrated in many different ways. It can be celebrated almost as a stripped-down, rather Protestant-looking communion service, or it could be celebrated in a way very closely approximating an old Tridentine High Mass.

It doesn't make much sense to apply it to Eastern Orthodoxy (I've never met a "Low Church" Orthodox).

I like bells and smells. I also love cathedrals and stained glass. I love baptismal fonts, wooden pews, sacristies, ang large pipe organs that resonate beyond the walls of the sanctuary. I love the sound of a choir in unison singing "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" and the words "Lamb of God..." during the Eucharist. Most of all, I enjoy the sense of uniqueness and purity that a church has in contrast with the outside world -- that the church itself is incorruptible.

As you can all see, I'm a bit of a church geek.

Exodus 30 chapter 1 tells of God saying you shall make an alter for the offering of incense. Throughout the bible we are told how to worship by God, even Christ commands us to remember him in the breaking of bread. We take the holy sacrament on out knees, crossing ourself affirming we are Christ's followers. His blood washes clean out souls from sin, knowing that we confess and make our peace with God. The bells notify us of the most sacred moments in the Mass. The liturgy has been formulated by the Church father's thousands of year's ago at the founding of our faith. In this ore inspiring atmosphere we can make our deep inner devotions to Our Lord and remember his ultimate sacrifice, and his resurrection from the dead. Our churches with their statues stained glass and pictures give us things to inspire our prayers and devotions, left from an age where such things were used to illustrate the Bible stories before our ancestors could read. These images are as powerful to us today. I like to not only pray but leave church with the scent of prayer on me. The peace in our church is always noted by visitors. Perhaps this stems from the inward devotion and such things created by bowing and crossing ourselves. The respect and order we show towards the most high in our services rituals and our behaviour in church really does create an atmosphere. The robes worn by the priests keep us clearly fixed on him, after all he is dressed to meet and bring us to our God. As a church warden I am constantly reminded every week by someone at how they enjoy the service, or the music. To me High Church values the highest ideals of our faith, and affirms them to the full.