Canadian Anglicans will hold discussions this spring about whether baptism is necessary for taking part in communion — questioning a requirement of Christianity that has existed for 2,000 years.Read the rest here.
“Official teaching is you have to be baptized first. But a number of clergy across the country feel strongly about this as an issue and many have approached their bishops about allowing for an ‘open table’ in which all could take communion,” said Archdeacon Paul Feheley, who is the principal secretary to Archbishop Fred Hiltz, head of the Anglican Church of Canada.
It will be discussed when the House of Bishops meet in April, but not as an official topic, he said.
The idea — already rejected as a dangerous step by more orthodox Anglicans — was raised in an article this week in the AnglicanJournal.com in which an Ontario church pastor argues that removing the requirement of baptism would help stop the decline in the number of Anglicans attending services.
The Holy Martyr Blandina
1 day ago
7 comments:
Understatement of the Year:
This kind of change, he added, would also drive a further wedge between Anglicans and Roman Catholics and the Orthodox Christians and help kill any notion of ecumenical reconciliation.
And here I thought, after hearing Anglicans plan a water pistol service, that nothing they could do could shock me any more.
And one more thing from this former Anglican: What makes these people imagine that a person not interested in Baptism will be interested in Communion?
I will at least acknowledge the honesty of Canadian Anglicans of discussing the issue. Communion without baptism is generally practiced in the US where it is technically prohibited. wink wink nudge nudge...
Nikolaus
This isn't particularly surprising I would think. I remember growing up always being surprised when a Protestant church had any sort of statement ahead of communion on who could or couldn't partake - in my own church I took for years as kid, but wasn't baptized till high school.
Unfortunately, I think this is the logical endgame of the strand within Anglicanism that basically views Holy Communion as merely an issue of "Table Hospitality." If your sacramental view of the Sacrament is nothing more than the difference between offering someone a cup of coffee during Coffee hour after the Sunday Liturgy, then this is, indeed, a logical endgame.
I couldn't agree more Archer, and I've used that same example myself.
Nikolaus
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