Sacramental wine
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Sacramental wine, Communion wine, altar wine, or wine for consecration is wine obtained from grapes and intended for use in celebration of the Eucharist (also referred to as the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion, among other names). It is usually consumed after sacramental bread.
History
Wine was used in the earliest celebrations of the Lord's Supper. Paul the Apostle writes in 1 Corinthians 10:16:[1]
The chalice of benediction, which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread, which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord? For we, being many, are one bread, one body, all that partake of one bread.[2]
In the
Eastern Churches in full communion with the
In the
Composition
The majority of liturgical churches, such as the
In
In most
Roman Catholicism
Over the centuries, various criteria were laid down for wine to be appropriate for use in the Eucharist. Editions of the
§1 The most holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist must be celebrated in bread, and in wine to which a small quantity of water is to be added.
§2 The bread must be wheaten only, and recently made, so that there is no danger of corruption.
§3 The wine must be natural, made from grapes of the vine, and not corrupt.[6]
This means that the wine must be naturally fermented with nothing added to it, and the wine itself cannot have
One exception was historically made regarding wine-derived additives to wine. An 1896 directive of the Congregation of the Inquisition stated:
To conserve weak and feeble wines, and in order to keep them from souring or spoiling during transportation, a small quantity of spirits of wine (grape brandy or alcohol) may be added, provided the following conditions are observed:
- The added spirit (alcohol) must have been distilled from the grape (ex genimime vitis);
- the quantity of alcohol added, together with that which the wine contained naturally after fermentation, must not exceed eighteen per cent of the whole;
- the addition must be made during the process of fermentation.[7]
Methodism
Methodist denominations use non-alcoholic wine (i.e. grape juice) in the sacrament. The 1916 rubric in the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which has influenced descendant Methodist connexions, states: "Let the pure, unfermented juice of the grape be used in administering the Lord's Supper."[4]
Manner of consumption
In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, Communion is administered under the form of wine either by the communicant drinking directly from the chalice or by intinction. In the latter manner, the priest partially dips the consecrated bread into the consecrated wine and then places it in the mouth of the communicant.[8]
Editions of the Roman Missal issued between 1970 and 2000 envisaged also use of a silver tube (Latin: fistula) with which, as with a "straw", to drink from the chalice, or of a spoon as in the Byzantine Rite.[9]
In the Byzantine Rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church and some Eastern Catholic Churches the normal method is to use a spoon to give the communicant some of the consecrated wine together with a portion of the consecrated bread that has been placed in the chalice.[10]
In the
Some
Industry
Throughout the world there are some wineries that exist either solely for the production of sacramental wines, or with sacramental wines as an auxiliary business. The same is true of wine used by other religions, e.g., kosher wine. These wineries are small and often run by religious brothers, priests or dedicated laity.
In Australia, for example, Australian Jesuits founded the oldest existing winery in the Clare Valley in 1851 to make sacramental wines. Producing over 90,000 litres (20,000 imp gal; 24,000 US gal) of wine annually, this winery supplies all of the Australian region's sacramental wine needs.[13][14] The oldest vineyard founded for sacramental wine, still producing in the United States, is O-Neh-Da Vineyard in the Finger Lakes wine region of New York State, founded in 1872 by Bernard John McQuaid, the bishop of Rochester.[15]
See also
- Alcohol in the Bible
- Blood of Christ
- Chalice
- Christian views on alcohol
- Communion cup
- Religion and alcohol
- Vin santo
- Hamra (Mandaeism)
References
- ^ 1 Corinthians 10:16
- ^ "1 Corinthians 10:16 Douay-Rheims version". Drbo.org. Retrieved 2012-03-05. The KJV, RSV, NRSV, NAB, and REB, translated from the Greek text rather than Latin, read "the cup of blessing".
- ^ a b "Hosts & Wine for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass". Archived from the original on 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2007-11-15. Altar Wine [dead link]
- ^ a b Rowe, Kenneth E. "Methodism's Miracle: From Wine to Grape Juice". General Commission on Archives and History. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "Why Water With Wine". www.ewtn.com. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ Code of Canon Law, 1983 Archived 2006-06-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Catholic Encyclopaedia: Altar Wine". Newadvent.org. 1907-03-01. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
- ^ General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 286-287
- ^ General Instruction of the Roman Missal (1970), 243-251
- ^ "The Holy Spoon and Hygiene". Orthodoxresearchinstitute.org. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
- ^ "Eucharist in Two Kinds and The Common Cup". The Anglican Church of Canada. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
- ISBN 978-0-19-513886-3.
- ^ History of SevenHills Cellars Archived October 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Vickers, Tara (2006-12-15). "Sacramental Wine". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
- ^ Barber, Elizabeth (24 May 2020). "Will the Coronavirus Be the End of the Communion Cup?". The New Yorker.