Row over Communion wine as lawyers challenge CoE ruling it is against Covid guidelines

Aug 25, 2020 by

by Gabriella Swerling, Telegraph:

Earlier this year, the House of Bishops clarified that parishioners drinking wine from the same cup during Holy Communion was forbidden.

A row has broken out over Holy Communion wine, as leading lawyers challenge the Church of England’s Covid guidelines.

Bread and wine is symbolic in Christian services, and is used to symbolise the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Earlier this year, following written questions submitted to Synod, the House of Bishops clarified that parishioners drinking wine from the same cup during Holy Communion was forbidden, amid mounting urgency to curb the spread of Covid . As a result, only bread is currently permitted during Communion.

However, there is increasing agitation within parishes regarding the ban, with many arguing for the use of small individual cups as a safe alternative, as is common in many non-conformist churches.

Now, in a bid to overturn the ban, six barristers and QCs have written a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury who acts as Chair of the House of Bishops, arguing that the Bishops’ interpretation of the law is wrong.

The legal opinion also states that Anglican clergy should be at liberty to reintroduce wine at Communion immediately, in individual cups.

In a letter to the Most Rev Justin Welby, shared with The Telegraph, Mary Durlacher, General Synod member for Chelmsford, wrote: “I have now taken legal advice from six barristers and the Opinion I have received is that the House of Bishop’s present position (viz., that the use of individual cups for distributing Communion is illegal) is incorrect as a matter of law and that there is no legal barrier to the use of individual cups.”

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