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Infant communion refers to the practice of giving the Eucharist, often in the form of consecrated wine mingled with consecrated bread, to young children. This practice is standard throughout Eastern Christianity, where communion is given at the Divine Liturgy to all baptized and chrismated church members regardless of age. Infant communion is less common in most of Western Christianity.
Support for infant communion is drawn from several gospel verses, including Matthew 19:14 and Mark 10:14. Among the Church Fathers, Cyprian, Augustine, and Leo the Great explicitly favored infant communion. [1]
In the Early Church, everyone who attended the Liturgy of the Faithful was expected to receive communion; catechumens and penitents were not present for the consecration. The Early Church permitted and encouraged parents to present their children to receive communion. The Apostolic Constitutions (4th century) instruct that children are to receive communion after the various orders of clergy and consecrated laity and before the general congregation.
With no practical difficulties or theological qualms with giving communion to young children, this practice continues in the Eastern Orthodox Church to this day.
The practice of allowing young children to receive communion has fallen into disfavor in the Latin-Rite of the Catholic Church. Latin-Rite Catholics generally refrain from infant communion and instead have a special ceremony when the child receives his or her First Communion, usually around the age of seven or eight years old. This is in accordance with the Code of Canon Law (followed in the Roman Rite), which states:
The administration of the Most Holy Eucharist to children requires that they have sufficient knowledge and careful preparation so that they understand the mystery of Christ according to their capacity and are able to receive the body of Christ with faith and devotion.
— Canon 913
The reason given for the non-necessity of infant communion was articulated by the Council of Trent:
The same holy council teaches that little children who have not attained the use of reason are not by any necessity bound to the sacramental communion of the Eucharist; for having been regenerated by the laver of baptism and thereby incorporated with Christ, they cannot at that age lose the grace of the sons of God already acquired. Antiquity is not therefore to be condemned, however, if in some places it at one time observed that custom. For just as those most holy Fathers had acceptable ground for what they did under the circumstances, so it is certainly to be accepted without controversy that they regarded it as not necessary to salvation.
— Council of Trent, Sess. XXI, chap. iv
Thus, the Council declared:
If anyone says that communion of the Eucharist is necessary for little children before they have attained the years of discretion, let him be anathema.
— Council of Trent, Sess. XXI, can. iv
Formerly, the Eastern Churches in full communion with the Roman Pope were generally required to conform to Western Church practice, in violation of the far more ancient practice of the Eastern Churches. However, the Second Vatican Council's decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum , although not specifically addressing infant communion, states that the Council "confirms and approves the ancient discipline of the sacraments existing in the Oriental Churches, as also the ritual practices connected with their celebration and administration and ardently desires that this should be re-established if circumstances warrant it" (Section 12).
This has led some of these Churches to restore the ancient practice of permitting infant communion.
The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (followed by the Eastern Catholic Churches) permits infant communion:
With respect to the participation of infants in the Divine Eucharist after baptism and chrismation with holy myron, the prescriptions of the liturgical books of each Church sui iuris are to be observed with the suitable due precautions
— Canon 710
In the Orthodox Church, any person of any age receives communion as soon as possible after baptism and chrismation, usually at the next Divine Liturgy. Young children are not usually required to fast or go to confession before communion until they are old enough to be aware of their sins, usually eight to nine years old.
In the Orthodox practice, the consecrated bread and wine are placed together in the chalice, and the priest administers communion with a small spoon. Infants typically receive a small amount of consecrated Blood of Christ (wine), which mingles with the Body (bread) of Christ; older children receive the consecrated Body of Christ (bread) as well. There is no theological (or epistemological) reason for withholding the bread from infants; it is merely the practical concern of not giving solid food to those not ready for it.
 | The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(March 2015) |
Infant communion is not the norm in the Lutheran Church. At most churches in the ELCA (as well as nearly 25% in the LCMS [2] ), First Communion instruction is provided to baptized children generally between the ages of 6–8 and, after a relatively short period of catechetical instruction, the children are admitted to partake of the Eucharist. [3] In some LCMS churches, however, the person must have receive Confirmation before receiving the Eucharist. As a whole, the ELCA teaches that the gift of communion is given at baptism; it is just that some more conservative churches choose to keep a tradition that children should be more aware of what communion means before they partake. Young children can receive holy communion in the ELCA and some European Lutheran bodies along with those who haven't received the catechetical instruction (or Confirmation) may be brought to the communion distribution by their parents to be blessed by the pastor.
The Evangelical Catholic Church, a now defunct denomination whose theology was partially based on Lutheranism (although also with some influence from Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), differed from most Lutherans in embracing the practice of infant communion. [4]
Martin Luther's Table Talk recorded his thoughts on the subject:
It was asked, did the Hussites well in administering the sacrament to young children, on the allegation that the graces of God apply equally to all human creatures? Dr. Luther replied: they were undoubtedly wrong, since young children need not the communion for their salvation; but still the innovation could not be regarded as a sin of the Hussites, since St Cyprian, long ago, set them the example. [5]
Practice varies widely throughout the Anglican Communion and among those Anglican churches that are not affiliated with the Anglican Communion. Open communion is practiced in some churches. The Church of England at the moment requires that people be "ready and desirous" of confirmation before receiving communion. [6] However, there have been experiments with communion before confirmation in some of its dioceses. The Church of England also allows baptised regular communicants from other Trinitarian churches to receive communion when visiting a CofE church. [7] This permission would seem, therefore, to extend to infants in the practice of receiving in their own churches; but in many of the world's Anglican churches the invitation so extended includes a specific reference to "adult" visitors.
Many Mainline Protestants practice open communion, in which the bread and wine/juice is offered to the people without discrimination of age or denominational status. In these churches, while the very young often commune, it is unusual for infants to receive the Eucharist.
Denominations which practice closed communion generally deny the Eucharist to those not members of their congregation or denomination, regardless of age.
In churches where membership is often not permitted until the teenage years (for example, the Amish), infant communion is very rare.
In recent years, the Eastern practice of paedocommunion has gained considerable attention in the West, including among some conservative Protestants.
Notable conservative Protestants in favor of the practice are Peter Leithart, Robert S. Rayburn, R. C. Sproul, Jr., Douglas Wilson, Rousas John Rushdoony, James B. Jordan, Gary North, and Steve Wilkins.
The Federation of Reformed Churches practices paedocommunion in all its churches as do some congregations within the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. The Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Episcopal Church, a conservative Anglican denomination, also are tolerant of the practice, and many conservative Presbyterians favor paedocommunion as well. In the Presbyterian Church in America, doctrinal acceptance of paedocommunion is tolerated though the practice itself is not allowed.
The Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion, Blessed Sacrament and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper, the night before his crucifixion, giving his disciples bread and wine. Passages in the New Testament state that he commanded them to "do this in memory of me" while referring to the bread as "my body" and the cup of wine as "the blood of my covenant, which is poured out for many". According to the Synoptic Gospels this was at a Passover meal.
Infant baptism is the practice of baptizing infants or young children. Infant baptism is also called christening by some faith traditions.
Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but typically when two or more denominations are in full communion it enables services and celebrations, such as the Eucharist, to be shared among congregants or clergy of any of them with the full approval of each.
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on of hands.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of 2022, it has approximately 2.9 million baptized members in 8,640 congregations.
Closed communion is the practice of restricting the serving of the elements of Holy Communion to those who are members in good standing of a particular church, denomination, sect, or congregation. Though the meaning of the term varies slightly in different Christian theological traditions, it generally means that a church or denomination limits participation either to members of their own church, members of their own denomination, or members of some specific class. This restriction is based on various parameters, one of which is baptism. See also intercommunion.
Open communion is the practice of some Protestant Churches of allowing members and non-members to receive the Eucharist. Many but not all churches that practice open communion require that the person receiving communion be a baptized Christian, and other requirements may apply as well. In Methodism, open communion is referred to as the open table, meaning that all may approach the Communion table.
Christian liturgy is a pattern for worship used by a Christian congregation or denomination on a regular basis. The term liturgy comes from Greek and means "public work". Within Christianity, liturgies descending from the same region, denomination, or culture are described as ritual families.
First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin Church tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communion. In churches that celebrate a rite of First Communion separate from baptism or confirmation, it typically occurs between the ages of seven and thirteen, often acting as a rite of passage. In other denominations first communion ordinarily follows the reception of confirmation, which occurs at some point in adolescence or adulthood, while Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians first receive the sacrament of Holy Communion in infancy, along with Holy Baptism and Chrismation.
Holy Communion, also known as the Eucharist and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches. The elements of the rite are sacramental bread and wine.
Intinction is the Eucharistic practice of partly dipping the consecrated bread, or host, into the consecrated wine before consumption by the communicant.
Eucharistic discipline is the term applied to the regulations and practices associated with an individual preparing for the reception of the Eucharist. Different Christian traditions require varying degrees of preparation, which may include a period of fasting, prayer, repentance, and confession.
Eucharistic theology is a branch of Christian theology which treats doctrines concerning the Holy Eucharist, also commonly known as the Lord's Supper and Holy Communion. It exists exclusively in Christianity, as others generally do not contain a Eucharistic ceremony.
In keeping with its prevailing self-identity as a via media or "middle path" of Western Christianity, Anglican sacramental theology expresses elements in keeping with its status as a church in the catholic tradition and a church of the Reformation. With respect to sacramental theology the Catholic tradition is perhaps most strongly asserted in the importance Anglicanism places on the sacraments as a means of grace, sanctification and forgiveness as expressed in the church's liturgy.
The sacrament of holy orders in the Catholic Church includes three orders: bishops, priests, and deacons, in decreasing order of rank, collectively comprising the clergy. In the phrase "holy orders", the word "holy" means "set apart for a sacred purpose". The word "order" designates an established civil body or corporation with a hierarchy, and ordination means legal incorporation into an order. In context, therefore, a group with a hierarchical structure that is set apart for ministry in the Church.
In Lutheranism, the Eucharist refers to the liturgical commemoration of the Last Supper. Lutherans believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, affirming the doctrine of sacramental union, "in which the body and blood of Christ are truly and substantially present, offered, and received with the bread and wine."
Confirmation in the Lutheran Church is a public profession of faith prepared for by long and careful instruction. In English, it may also be referred to as "affirmation of baptism", and is a mature and public reaffirmation of the faith which "marks the completion of the congregation's program of confirmation ministry".
The Lutheran sacraments are "sacred acts of divine institution". They are also defined as “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.”.
There are seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, which according to Catholic theology were instituted by Jesus Christ and entrusted to the Church. Sacraments are visible rites seen as signs and efficacious channels of the grace of God to all those who receive them with the proper disposition.
A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the reality of God, as well as a channel for God's grace. Many denominations, including the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican, Methodist, and Reformed, hold to the definition of sacrament formulated by Augustine of Hippo: an outward sign of an inward grace, that has been instituted by Jesus Christ. Sacraments signify God's grace in a way that is outwardly observable to the participant.
