Explanation

The issue commonly known as “open communion” has generated strong opinions for more than a decade.[1] The issue is not going away. This resolution seeks to find a way forward by affirming Baptism as foundational to our life as Christians while acknowledging that, for some, the entry to Holy Communion does not always start with Baptism.

This resolution requests that the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music examine whether eligibility requirements for receiving Holy Communion belongs in the canons or elsewhere. Further, this resolution requests that the commission develop a canon and/or a prayer book rubric for Baptism and Communion that is positive and inviting, in both and content and tone. The commission could, for example, consider the language in another proposed resolution at this General Convention that would amend the canon to read: “All baptized persons are eligible to receive Holy Communion in this church except where prohibited by the Book of Common Prayer.”

Adopting a positive canon would align us with our siblings in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which states in its principles: “Believing in the real presence of Christ, this church practices eucharistic hospitality. All baptized persons are welcomed to Communion when they are visiting in the congregations of this church.”[2]

In 2012, General Convention approved a resolution (2012-C029) stating: “That the Episcopal Church reaffirms that baptism is the ancient and normative entry point to receiving Holy Communion and that our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to go into the world and baptize all peoples.”

This resolution affirms that the 2012 resolution recognized that the “normative” entry point to Holy Communion is Baptism, but implicitly recognized there are pastoral exceptions.

In 2022, a group of seminary professors wrote a letter affirming the primacy of baptism as the “fountain from which the other sacraments flow” and that Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist are “a gift of supernatural grace.” This resolution affirms their statement.

But many of us who have served in local churches are aware that the gifts of supernatural grace from the Holy Spirit do not always come in the neat order required by canons. Many of us have experienced instances when the unchurched have been drawn to Baptism only after first receiving Holy Communion. We have witnessed how the Holy Spirit does not always work in linear ways.

The crux of the present issue does not stem from a lack of respect for and belief in baptism as foundational to our faith. Rather, it stems from how the 1979 Book of Common Prayer eliminated the requirement that a person must be confirmed to receive Communion. No eligibility requirement for receiving Holy Communion replaced Confirmation in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Indeed, the prayer book remains silent on the point.

The only grounds for denying Communion mentioned in the prayer book are in the disciplinary rubrics on page 409 barring those “living a notoriously evil life,” and engaging in “hatred between members of the congregation” and “scandal.” The absence of Baptism is not mentioned in the prayer book as grounds for denying Communion.

The canon requiring Baptism was adopted by General Convention several years after the adoption of the prayer book. The language of Canon I.17.7 carries an unwelcoming tone, beginning with the word “No” — underscoring how this canon is essentially a negative rule rather than an invitation to the grace of the sacraments.

In practical terms, the canon is virtually unenforceable. No deacon, priest or bishop is known to have checked for baptismal certificates at the altar rail. No known deacon, priest or bishop has been disciplined for serving Communion to an unbaptized person. Canons that are unenforceable erode the efficacy of all canons.

We also note that other denominations with whom we are close, including the ELCA, Presbyterian Church USA and the United Methodist Church, have no such requirements for baptism before Communion.[3]

 

[1] Meyers, Ruth. “Who May Be Invited to the Table,” 2012, Anglican Theological Review, 2012:

https://www.anglicantheologicalreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/meyers_.pdf

[2] ELCA, “Use of the Means of Grace,” 1997: “Principle 49: Believing in the real presence of Christ, this church practices eucharistic hospitality. All baptized persons are welcomed to Communion when they are visiting in the congregations of this church. Application 37G: When an unbaptized person comes to the table seeking Christ’s presence and is inadvertently communed, neither that person nor the ministers of Communion need be ashamed. Rather, Christ’s gift of love and mercy to all is praised. That person is invited to learn the faith of the Church, be baptized, and thereafter faithfully receive Holy Communion.”

[3] PCUSA, Book of Order 2023-2025, W-3.0409: “The opportunity to eat and drink with Christ is not a right bestowed upon the worthy, but a privilege given to the undeserving who come in faith, repentance, and love. All who come to the table are offered the bread and cup, regardless of their age or understanding. If some of those who come have not yet been baptized, an invitation, when appropriate, to baptismal preparation and Baptism should be graciously extended.” UMC, “This Holy Mystery,” 2004: “All who respond in faith to the invitation are to be welcomed. Holy Baptism normally precedes partaking of Holy Communion. Holy Communion is a meal of the community who are in covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ.” UMC, “By Water and the Spirit,” 1996: “Unbaptized persons who receive communion should be counseled and nurtured toward baptism as soon as possible.”

 

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