Communion under both kinds
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Part of a series on the |
Eucharist |
---|
Communion under both kinds in
Roman Catholicism
Doctrine
In reference to the Eucharist as a sacrifice, Communion under both kinds belongs at least to the integrity and essence, of the rite, and may not be omitted without violating the precept of Christ: "Do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19). This is mentioned implicitly by the Council of Trent (Sess. XXI, c. i; XXII, c. i),[1] and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal states that the people "should share the cup when it is permitted. Then, Communion is a clearer sign of sharing in the sacrifice that is actually being celebrated."[2]
Practice
Catholicism teaches that Christ is sacramentally (and equally) present under each species, and therefore if a person receives only one species, Christ is fully present and nothing is lacking.[3]
In the Early Church, Communion was ordinarily administered and received under both kinds. That such was the practice mentioned by Paul in I Corinthians 11:28.[1] But side by side in the Early Church there existed the custom of communicating in certain cases under one kind alone e.g. when people took home some of the Eucharist after Sunday worship and communicated during the week and also when the Eucharist was brought to the sick.[1]
By the Middle Ages, the Church had become, like most of European society, increasingly hierarchical. There was much stress on being holy when receiving Communion, and a greatly heightened appreciation of the holiness of the sacramental elements (bread and wine). This meant that all who approached the altar were to be as pure as possible, and inevitably led to the exclusion of the laity from receiving the Eucharist under both kinds, reserving the practice to the clergy. It is difficult to say when the practice of offering the chalice to the people stopped, but it seems to have been part of the way in which Church authorities sought to prevent anything disrespectful happening to the Eucharist; it was also, by this time, that the host (the Communion bread) was given only on the tongue.[citation needed] It is, among historians, generally thought that the practice of not any longer giving the chalice to the laity started in the 12th or 13th century and had become rather widespread during the 14th.
This practice was challenged by the
In the 20th century, Catholic liturgical reformers began to press for a return to Communion under both kinds, citing the practice of the Church before the 13th century. There were spirited debates over the issue at the Second Vatican Council, resulting in a compromise. The following text was finally issued by the bishops; "communion under both kinds may be granted when the bishops think fit, not only to clerics and religious, but also to the laity, in cases to be determined by the Apostolic See, as for instance, to the newly ordained in the Mass of their sacred ordination, to the newly professed in the Mass of their religious profession, and to the newly baptized in the Mass which follows their baptism".[5] Regular use of Communion under both kinds requires the permission of the bishop, but bishops in many countries have given blanket authorisation to administer Holy Communion in this way. In the United States, the Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life showed that by 1989, slightly less than half of the parishes in its survey offered the chalice to their congregations.[5] As a result of the 2020-2022 pandemic, the practice of giving Communion under both kinds seems to have been, once again, restrained.
Eastern Orthodoxy
(Also applicable to the appropriate Eastern Catholic Churches.)
The Eastern Orthodox Church has consistently practised communion under both kinds. Both the clergy and the people normally receive in both kinds.
Doctrine
Communion of only the Eucharistic Bread is seen as imperfect by the Orthodox churches, who do not normally follow this practice, even in extremis.[6]
Practice
During the celebration of the
When the priest takes Holy Communion to the sick, he transfers a portion to a vessel which is worn around the neck. Inside the vessel are compartments for a gilded box to contain the Mysteries, a tiny chalice, a bottle for wine, a small gilded spoon and often a gilded set of tweezers. Once at the sick person's bedside he uses the tweezers to take a particle of the Mysteries from the box and place it in the chalice. He then pours a small amount of unconsecrated red wine into the chalice which softens the dried particle as he hears the sick person's confession. Then, after saying the Prayers before Communion, he administers Holy Communion in both kinds to the sick person using the spoon, exactly as is done during the Divine Liturgy.
Lutheranism
Doctrine
The
In our churches, communion is administered to the laity in both kinds, because this is a manifest command and precept of Christ. Matt. 26:27. 'Drink ye all of it.' In this passage Christ teaches, in the plainest terms, that they should all drink out of the cup. And in order that no one may be able to cavil at these words, and explain them as referring to the clergy alone, Paul informs us that the entire church at Corinth received the sacrament in both kinds. (1 Cor. 11:26.) And this custom was retained in the church for a long time, as can be proved by history, and the writings of the Fathers. Cyprian frequently mentions the fact that in his day the cup was given to the laity. St. Jerome also says, the priests, who administer the sacrament, dispense the blood of Christ to the people. And pope Gelasius himself commanded that the sacrament should not be divided (distinct. 2, de consecat. cap. comperimus). There is no canon extant, which commands that one kind alone should be received. Nor can it be ascertained when, or by whom, the custom of receiving bread alone was introduced, although cardinal Cusanus mentions the time when it was approved. Now it is evidence that such a custom, introduced contrary to the divine command, and also in opposition to the ancient canons, is wrong. It was therefore improper to coerce and oppress the conscience of those who wished to receive the sacrament agreeably to the appointment of Christ, and compel them to violate the institution of our Lord. And inasmuch by Christ, the custom of carrying about the host in the procession is omitted amongst us.[7]
Practice
The Eucharist is administered by a Lutheran priest under both kinds, often at the chancel rails or in a communion line, after hosts and a common chalice are consecrated.
Anglicanism and Methodism
Doctrine
The 30th article of the
Practice
In Anglican and Methodist liturgy, the bread (typically in wafer form) is administered by licensed clergy into the cupped hands of the communicant, usually kneeling at the altar rail. The chalice may be administered by the clergy or, in certain dioceses, by licensed laypersons. The bread may be consumed before drinking the wine from the chalice or may be dipped into the wine prior to consuming (intinction).[10]
Reformed
Doctrine
Communion under both kinds for the whole congregation was a central issue for the Protestant reformers, since they believed that it had been specifically commanded by Jesus at the Last Supper.[5] John Calvin in his seminal 1536 work, Institutes of the Christian Religion, wrote; 'For Christ not only gave the cup, but appointed that the apostles should do so in future. For his words contain the command, "Drink ye all of it." And Paul relates, that it was so done, and recommends it as a fixed institution (First Epistle to the Corinthians 1Corinthians 11:25)'.[11]
Practice
Almost all
Latter Day Saints
In the Latter Day Saint movement the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is taken under both kinds, similar to Protestant usage. As originally practiced by the Latter Day Saint movement founder Joseph Smith and other early Latter Day Saints, the sacrament included the use of fermented wine.
Based on a document that Latter Day Saints believed was a revelation to Joseph Smith, however, it has been acceptable for Latter Day Saints to use other substances in the sacrament. As stated in the document: "It mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory—remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins."
See also
- Lovefeast
References
- ^ a b c d This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Toner, P. (1913). "Communion under Both Kinds". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ "General Instruction Chapter II paragraph 56h" (PDF). Usccb.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-10-13. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
- ^ "Catholic Catechism paragraph 1390". Scborromeo.org. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
- ^ a b Pastor, Manuel Ureña (28 September 2005). "Eucharistic Theology in the Reformation and the Council of Trent". www.ewtn.com. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ a b c Wedig, Mark E. "Reception of the Eucharist Under Two Species". www.pastoralliturgy.org. Liturgy Training Publications. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ See: Todoran I. and Zăgrean I., Teologia dogmatică (Bucharest, 1991).
- ^ a b Schmucker, Samuel Simon (1855). The Lutheran manual on scriptural principles: or, the Augsburg confession illustrated and sustained chiefly by scripture proofs and extracts from standard Lutheran theologians of Europe and America; together with the formula of government and discipline, adopted by the General synod of the Evangelical Lutheran church in the United States. Lindsay & Blakiston. p. 284.
- ^ "The Thirty Nine Articles". Anglicans Online. 2007-04-15. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
- The United Methodist Church. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-7894-5.
- ^ "Institutes of the Christian Religion, a New Translation, by Henry Beveridge, Esq, Book IV (Chapter 17, Section 48)". www.reformed.org. The Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics (CRTA). Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "Doctrine and Covenants 27:2". Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2013. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
- ^ "Communion". churchofjesuschrist.org. 2012-02-21. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
- ^ "Do Mormon Partake of the Communion?". LDS Church. 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2013-08-05.