Tuesday, March 10, 2020

common bread


When he was Rector of the Ecumenical Institute at Tantur near Jerusalem, my college advisor Donald Nicholl had to work through what it meant to take communion when others could not. (cf. The Testing of Hearts, London, 1989). In his case the Protestants and Roman Catholics were supposed not to take communion together. 

As Rector his first response was not to take communion when others could not; then he realized he was never taking communion at all! --Not so good for the head of a community. So he decided that when he went up for communion he went not only for himself but for everyone who could not as well.

Might be a practice to adopt in other circumstances too.

3 comments:

John Leech said...

A liturgy for Spiritual Communion

https://mcusercontent.com/705119168101de59de144200c/files/bfb49797-8a1d-49c6-bf67-51add2c514f4/Spiritual_Communion.pdf

*The text is adapted from the 1967 edition of the Saint Augustine’s Prayer Book, which is in the public domain.

* Appears here courtesy The Rev. Canon David Benedict Hedges, BSG

John Leech said...

When I wrote this blog post some churches were still holding Eucharist for all comers. Reading it now, it occurs to me that we take communion - when we do - for others, not just in other places but somehow other times as well. And they for us.

John Leech said...

https://www.facebook.com/james.farwell.7/posts/10215827461736004