(Received via email-KSH).
To the Rectors and Vicars of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina,
The Lord’s Table is not ours. It is a gift given to the Church, instituted by Christ himself as a means of grace, a participation in his body and blood, and a foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet of Revelation 19. Changing its form is no light matter; what we do reflects what we believe about God and his Church.
In centuries past, the Church—universally—shared this sacred meal in a way that reflected its unity and holiness. Wine, as ordained by Christ, was drunk, as ordained by Christ, from a common cup, signifying one sacrifice for one body. This was not mere tradition, but a theological proclamation: that we, though many, are one Body, and that his blood cleanses and sustains us all.
The Common Cup in the Life of the Church
The well-intended innovations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries began to erode this sacred symbolism. Driven by fears of human frailty—whether the moral frailty addressed by the Temperance Movement or the physical frailty feared in the spread of disease—some departed from the elements and methods instituted by Christ.
The introduction of grape juice (Dr Welch’s Unfermented Wine, 1869) and individual communion cups (churches in Denmark, circa 1910) were pragmatic responses to perceived threats—at the expense of good theology.
Anglicans resisted these changes for principled reasons. The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1886/1888 reminds us of the essential elements of our faith, including the sacraments administered “with unfailing use of Christ’s words of institution and of the elements ordained by him.” Wine drunk from the common cup is not simply a matter of preference; it is a faithful enactment of the sacrament as Christ gave it to us.
The Reverence Due the Sacrament
In the sacrament, ordinary elements are consecrated—set apart to a holy purpose—to communicate God’s grace to his people. Regardless of how one interprets the mystery of “This is my body” and “This is my blood,” it is a profound truth that the consecrated elements are no longer common bread and wine. They are holy, and they must be handled accordingly.
This reverence extends not only to their reception but also to their disposal. What remains after Communion must not be treated as ordinary waste. It must be consumed, reserved for pastoral use, or reverently returned to the earth (the piscina for example), reflecting the honor due to the sacrament and aligning with the Reformation’s rejection of practices like Eucharistic Adoration (Article XXV).
The use of disposable, individualized communion kits complicates this reverence. It introduces a casualness that obscures the sacred. It fragments the unity of the Body by reducing the shared cup to a collection of individual portions. It is, in short, a compromise that diminishes what the sacrament is meant to proclaim.
A Post-COVID Restoration
The recent pandemic compelled us to make difficult decisions. In the face of uncertainty, many of us adapted practices to ensure the continuation of our Eucharistic life. But as the crisis has passed, we must now return to the practices that most faithfully express the theology of Holy Communion. The sacrament is not ours to adapt due to fear; it is Christ’s gift to his Church, and requires our fidelity.
Even though the COVID crisis is behind us, some still feel hesitant about returning to the shared cup. Let’s not allow misplaced fears to lead us astray. The CDC has confirmed that no disease transmission has ever been traced to the common cup. (Managan L, Sehulster L, Chiarelo L, Simonds D, Jarvis W. Risk of infectious disease transmission from a common communion cup. Am J Infect Contr 1998;26: 538e9.) In fact, intinction—dipping the bread into the cup—theoretically poses a greater risk for contamination than sharing the cup. More than that, though, our fidelity to Christ’s command to “drink this” is a part of the Eucharistic mystery—we are sharing Christ’s meal as Christ’s body—that should not be avoided.
The Path Forward
I will no longer permit the use of individualized communion kits (the little cup of juice or wine with a wafer on top). And I encourage you to reduce the use of intinction as on par with sharing the common cup. Encourage parishioners to share the common cup as both obedient to the clear teaching of Christ, and, in fact, the more hygienic method of distribution. Multiple stations allow the efficient administration of Communion, but all stations must be visibly tied to the consecration of the elements at the altar.
This transition will require patience and teaching. The common cup is not a trivial matter of tradition; it is a visible sign of our unity in Christ and of his abiding presence with us. The table of the Lord is a place of peace where God’s grace is communicated, and we are united in Christ’s meal as his Body.
The table of the Lord is not ours to reshape but his to give; we approach it with humility, faithfulness, and joy, proclaiming the mystery of Christ’s death until he comes again.
Blessings,
(The Rev. Rev.) Chip Edgar, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of SC
