St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church

Who Can Take Communion?

The Canons indicate that those who are baptized Christians in good standing of their own denomination may receive communion. We do not coerce atheists, pagans and other faiths to take communion and respect their choice not to participate in the symbol of Christian fellowship. The priest will not refrain from offering communion, except in extreme cases where the person has been severely harming the community. Individuals who do take communion but are not baptized should discuss their experience with the priest.

Do you take both elements? In some Roman Churches we take just the bread!

In the Episcopal Church people may take both elements. However, you may take just the host. You may also just receive a blessing. Just fold your arms over your chest.

How do you take communion?

When taking the bread you may put your dominant hand over another, lifting your hands to the level of the priest's hands. You may also open your mouth and the priest may place it on your tongue.

You may drink directly from the cup.

I have an allergy to alcohol. How should I respond?

Those who are sober, have allergies, or from a tradition that doesn't consume alcohol, may do the following.

If they can have a taste, they can intinct.
They may cross their arms.
They may hold the cup.
They may kiss the cup. A kiss may be purely formal.

How do babies consume?

Baptized babies, who cannot consume bread, may taste the wine. The priest administers by using his pinky to dip in the wine and place at the corner of the child's lip.

Doesn't sharing make you sick from other people's germs?

If someone is contagious, they should stay in bed and get some rest. Rest is the best way to fight disease.

The church says the following about Eucharistic Practice and the Risk of Infection.

Were there any significant risk to the eucharistic practices of the Anglican church for so many centuries it would seem likely that the insurance actuarial tables would reflect an increased risk for Anglican priests, who have been performing the ablutions for centuries. In fact the opposite is true. Nor do priests appear to have been regularly stricken with any communicable disease that could be traced to the chalice in all that time. Additionally, no episode of disease attributable to the common cup has ever been reported. Thus for the average communicant it would seem that the risk of drinking from the common cup is probably less than the risk of air-borne infection in using a common building.