Receiving Communion, communicable diseases, and other religious practices

[Tradd]

An article was posted on my national church's website in the past few days and I found it very interesting. It discusses receiving Communion and communicable diseases.

http://www.oca.org/CHRIST-life-article.asp?SID=6&ID=183

The Orthodox receive Communion (a small bit of the bread and wine) via a spoon. Traditional Catholic practice is to receive the Host on the tongue. Chalice is not offered to the laity. Contemporary Catholic practice is to receive the Host in the hand. The wine via common chalice is offered, but not sure if it's done in every parish. Although I think you can dip the Host in the wine if you don't want to drink from the cup.

Episcopalians/Anglicans give the Host or bread (both can be used) in the hand, with chalice with wine offered. I suspect more traditional Anglicans might receive the Host on the tongue.

Not sure about Lutherans and other liturgical Protestants.

From a favorite blog that looks at religion coverage by the media (more on the "traditional" side:

http://www.getreligion.org/?p=15505

An view from a Greek Orthodox physician in Montreal:
http://net-abbey.org/cupbact.htm

Have your clergy) said anything about receiving Communion and/or other religious practices in light of the H1N1 outbreak?

What about those from non-Christian faith traditions - have your religious leaders suggested any changes/modifications of your religious practice?

I'm very interested to hear what others may contribute to the discussion.

[Liquesce]

Originally Posted by Tradd

What about those from non-Christian faith traditions - have your religious leaders suggested any changes/modifications of your religious practice?

Some countries are working out systems prohibiting people from traveling for hajj, or permitted only those who have received the H1N1 vaccine to travel; I've heard Saudi Arabia added flu vaccines to their hajj traveler vaccine list this year, but I'm really not clear on whether that's a recommendation or something required to participate.

[z2akids]

Originally Posted by Tradd

An article was posted on my national church's website in the past few days and I found it very interesting. It discusses receiving Communion and communicable diseases.

http://www.oca.org/CHRIST-life-article.asp?SID=6&ID=183

The Orthodox receive Communion (a small bit of the bread and wine) via a spoon. Traditional Catholic practice is to receive the Host on the tongue. Chalice is not offered to the laity. Contemporary Catholic practice is to receive the Host in the hand. The wine via common chalice is offered, but not sure if it's done in every parish. Although I think you can dip the Host in the wine if you don't want to drink from the cup.
Episcopalians/Anglicans give the Host or bread (both can be used) in the hand, with chalice with wine offered. I suspect more traditional Anglicans might receive the Host on the tongue.

Not sure about Lutherans and other liturgical Protestants.

From a favorite blog that looks at religion coverage by the media (more on the "traditional" side:

http://www.getreligion.org/?p=15505

An view from a Greek Orthodox physician in Montreal:
http://net-abbey.org/cupbact.htm

Have your clergy) said anything about receiving Communion and/or other religious practices in light of the H1N1 outbreak?

What about those from non-Christian faith traditions - have your religious leaders suggested any changes/modifications of your religious practice?

I'm very interested to hear what others may contribute to the discussion.

Dipping the consecrated host into the precious blood in the Catholic faith is called intintion. This is not an allowed practice. The reason for this is because we can never be worthy of receiving the Body and Blood and therefore can only receive it as a gift. It is given to us by the Priest or other ordinary or extraordinary minster. We cannot take it. dipping your consecrated host into the precious blood is an act of taking the blood, not receiveing it.

As far as our Diocese, we have not made any changes to the distribution of Communion. Our Pastor has reminded the Parish that it is acceptable to forgo the Precious Blood when one is ill.

[Bluegoat]

Our Anglican diocese has actually had a bit of controversy around this issue. As you noted , many Anglicans receive in the hand, and it is now very common for many to practice intinction. Although the parish I attend now doesn't seem to have many intincters, the one closest to me has a majority of intincters.

However, the Bishop recently banned intinction. It was never considered best practice for religious reasons in most cases, but it has been banned for specifically for health reasons. Many many parishioners have problems with this, and I know the council at the local Church, which my dh sits on, almost to a person refused to believe it. (My poor dh, a chemistry nerd, tried to explain the effect of the silver chalice on germs, but to no avail.)

Some Anglican churches that pass the peace by handshaking have also discouraged that, or like my local church, put out hand sanitizer around the nave - somehow people are suppose to sanitize before passing the peace, which strikes me as very comical. My church doesn't pass the peace that way, so no hand sanitizer for us.

The diocese has also reminded people that it is ok to take just the Body if one is ill or has immune issues.

[lilyka]

i let my coughing child take communion this morning (common spoon) and didn't fret for a second. if I know i am sick I try to be at the end of the line so I am the last one. I have no concern if other people are sick though. I figure people are more likely to catch what my kids have at coffee hour (I have three kids and between colds and allergies and a propensity to hang on to a cough long after a sickness has passed if we stayed hom every time someone was coughing we would never leave the house). I did hesitate to let her venerate the cross but also shrugged that off quickly. meh....its silver....no one seemed at all upset about it and it was clear to everyone in church that she had a cough. no one said anything.

[indie]

I don't worry about it. When I am a chalice bearer I try to make sure that I wipe the cup well and rotate the purificator around so I'm not using the same dirty end over and over. I do not refrain from receiving when illness is going around and when I'm chalice bearing I drink the leftovers after everyone has consumed. Between the silver, the purificator, and the alcohol in the wine I figure very little could survive with or without the presence of Christ.

The passing of the peace would be much more germy in my opinion. I try to slap some sanitizer on during cold season if I have some in my purse, but I don't worry about it if I don't.

[momtokea]

I attend a Catholic church and there is no wine offered for communion, only the Host will be offered on the hand, not the mouth. We will not be shaking hands for peace, and I heard that all Holy Water fonts will be emptied, although at my church it hadn't been emptied yet this weekend.

I was raised Greek Orthodox where communion is given on a spoon. I do not have the slightest fear of catching any disease from receiving communion because I believe that Jesus IS present in the Holy Eucharist and it simply will not happen.

[Watershippy]

This discussion came up yesterday, and one of the friends I was with recalled some study that came out regarding Eucharist back when AIDS was new and people weren't sure how it was being spread. He said it determined that the risk of catching any communicable disease from the common cup was absolutely tiny. The best ways to reduce the risk are 1. Silver chalice rather than ceramic, and 2. Port rather than a lower-octane wine or grape juice. Intinction is supposed to be less sanitary than drinking from the chalice because people have more germs on their hands.

My church decided to only offer the bread this week (I couldn't really fathom that and skipped out instead). They haven't cut out hand shakes, which I think is a zillion times riskier.

Other (Episcopal) parishes around here are switching from our usual method of priest distributing the Host and parishioner then drinking from the chalice to the priest dipping the host in the wine and then placing on the parishioner's tongue. Not sure if that is any better, since those fingers are likely to be licked quite a few times during the process.

[zech13_9_goforgold]

I go to a non-litergical protestant church. Our grape juice is in individual cups, but the bread is on a plate which is passed from one hand to the other. I honestly have never thought about germs.

[mamabadger]

This issue comes up every time there is an outbreak of communicable diseases. During the SARS outbreak, Orthodox churches in some areas were asked to change their Communion practices.

At my church, people often stay home from church if they have a cough or a fever, or avoid direct contact with other people while they are sick, but they would never avoid Communion out of a fear of germs.
Once in a while, somebody (usually not a regular churchgoer) tries to receive Communion without touching the spoon, by holding the mouth wide open in the manner mentioned in the first article. Our parish priest refuses to give them Communion until they take it in the usual way - not just because it is customary, but because to do otherwise would be a show of disrespect toward the Sacrament.

[Sailor]

I must admit, when I was still a minor, living with my family, and we all went to Church on Sunday, I would only pretend to take Communion (slip out of line when family was not watching). I'd also skip out on the handshaking. The Church I went to had the host on the tongue.

I'm that person who can't touch anything with bare hands in public restrooms. So, I could never get over the germ issues in Church. I used to wonder whether the priest had washed his hands (with something other than the water) before giving the host to everyone. And then the handshaking - people coughed into those hands!

I know, I'm weird on this germ issue.

I heard from my mom that her Church has also stopped offering the wine. They're only doing the host, and it goes into the hand. But, that is the only change she mentioned. They haven't stopped the handshaking.

[Bluegoat]

Handshaking can spread germs, but probably not more than things like opening doors. Think of it as a way to exersize your immune system.

In my experience, most priests are pretty careful about washing their hands before the Mass, but of course there is no way to know about any individual unless you watch. I suppose that is one good thing that may come of all of this; handwashing will get a renewed emphasis.

[wmama]

Talking to some friends at the Presbyterian church we used to attend last night, and they said this past Sunday there was Purell on every pew, and the pastor somewhat apologetically requested everyone taking communion to use the Purell beforehand. Communion is taken by intinction there--tear a small piece off a large loaf of bread, then dip in the cup.

[lilyka]

Originally Posted by mamabadger

Once in a while, somebody (usually not a regular churchgoer) tries to receive Communion without touching the spoon, by holding the mouth wide open in the manner mentioned in the first article. Our parish priest refuses to give them Communion until they take it in the usual way - not just because it is customary, but because to do otherwise would be a show of disrespect toward the Sacrament.

i am glad you said this. i read somewhere we weren't really supposed to touch the spoon but I have no idea how to do that and always feel bad now I can relax and know that it really is ok to touch the spoon.

[PatienceAndLove]

My Parish in San Antonio is an Anglican Use church, so we receive kneeling at the Communion Rail via the Body intincted into the Blood by the priest/deacon before we receive "The Body and Blood of Christ".

As for having the Body and Blood for the laity, it is a more complete sign, but one receives both the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ when you receive either the Body or the Blood. To forego Holy Communion just because the wine is not offered seems a bit... silly since you receive all of Christ when you receive either.

[frugalmama]

Originally Posted by PatienceAndLove

My Parish in San Antonio is an Anglican Use church, so we receive kneeling at the Communion Rail via the Body intincted into the Blood by the priest/deacon before we receive "The Body and Blood of Christ".

As for having the Body and Blood for the laity, it is a more complete symbol, but one receives both the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ when you receive either the Body or the Blood. To forego Holy Communion just because the wine is not offered seems a bit... silly since you receive all of Christ when you receive either.

Ah - you must go to Our Lady of Atonement! Great parish - wish I lived closer to it.

[Smokering]

We do individual cups. Which is just as well, given we use (for some convoluted reason relating to alcoholism which I think is silly) watered-down Ribena instead of wine or even grape juice. Not very germ-killing. We do take the bread from the basket wth our hands, but it never worried me - I try not to finger the bits I don't take, and we sit at the front anyway.

The only health issue related to Communion is the gluten-free issue. We have a celiac in the congregation; he offered to provide gluten-free bread for Communion, so that's what we use. I don't think most people even notice the difference, and it means the few gluten-intolerant members of the congregation can still participate.

[PatienceAndLove]

Originally Posted by frugalmama

Ah - you must go to Our Lady of Atonement! Great parish - wish I lived closer to it.

How did you guess???

[theretohere]

I go to a confessional liturgical Lutheran church. We are still communing as normal and will continue to do so.

[AllyRae]

I attend a Catholic Church and they still use the chalice (and shake hands for the sign of peace, and shake hands with the priest at the beginning and end of mass). Because I'm gluten free, I can't take the host, so I have no choice *but* to take the Chalice if I want to participate in communion. And parents & children who are in the cry room (like we always are) always take last. So I do a lot of praying that the chalice will remain disease free for me. :