Individual Cups at Holy Communion in the Church of England

Jesus' command, "Drink ye all of it [the Communion cup]" (Matthew 26:27) seems clear enough. And Article 30 of the Church of England's 39 Articles states: "Of both Kinds. The Cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the Lay-people: for both the parts of the Lord's Sacrament, by Christ's ordinance and commandment, ought to be ministered to all Christian men alike." The Sacrament Act of 1547 similarly says: "within this Churche of Englande and Irelande and other the Kings Dominions, under bothe the Kyndes, that is to saie of breade and wyne, excepte necessitie otherwise require:" (Emphasis added)

There is an on-going discussion within the C of E about the legality and suitability of individual cups at Holy Communion. 

I would be grateful to be pointed to significant information and resources on this. 

From an Evangelical point of view, Thomas Renz (see also https://hadleyrectory.blogspot.com/search/label/Holy%20Communion) and Ian Paul and Andrew Atherstone have been writing about this. 

There is some discussion in Law & Religion UK https://lawandreligionuk.com/2021/03/18/coronavirus-and-ecclesiastical-law-ii/#Individual%20cups

The latest Coronavirus guidance on Holy Communion is relevant. 

The Church of England legal advisor commission has called individual cups unlawful.  (January 1991, revised September 2003)

But other lawyers have challenged this legal opinion. 

The House of Bishops has discussed the matter at some length. Sadly the Church of England legal commission has not so far published all its legal advice in full. 

Individual Bishops have written to their clergy. Practice on the ground varies. Some have adopted individual cups, No action has been taken against them, though I'm told some bishops have frowned. There has been talk of health issues and insurance, even. It is not clear what could be done to stop an incumbent using individual cups as matters of ritual are notoriously hard to prosecute. It seems unlikely any bishop would want to try. 

And the matter has now been treated in Questions at General Synod a number of times:

In  General Synod in July 2020, Mrs Mary Durlacher (Chelmsford) to asked the Chair of the House of Bishops: “Will the House of Bishops reconsider the prohibition of use of small individual cups as a valid ‘common sense’ pro tem way of sharing the Communion wine while current constraints remain? [Q.68]. In response, The Bishop of London replied on behalf of the Chair of the House of Bishops:

“[A.68] The Legal Advisory Commission has stated “it is contrary to law for individual cups to be used for each communicant” and that “the doctrine of necessity cannot be appealed to in order to justify the use of individual cups even in circumstances where there is a fear of contagion from the use of a common cup. … the Sacrament Act 1547 makes provision for cases where a necessity not to deliver a common cup arises: in such a case the normal requirement that the sacrament be delivered in both kinds is disapplied by statute. Even if a shared cup cannot be used for medical reasons, the use of individual cups remains contrary to law … . In such cases reception should be in one kind only.” The House cannot authorise or encourage a practice which would be contrary to law.”

 February 2021 General Synod Questions  and the written answers, [Q9, Q10, and Q11], 

November 2021 General Synod Questions and written answers [Q38-41]:

The Bishop of Lichfield on behalf of the Chair of the House of Bishops: 

 The House recognises that different ministers and churches have in good conscience adopted a variety of forms of administration of Holy Communion while Covid-19 continues to circulate in the general population. Whatever approach is taken, ministers and churches should be guided by the symbolism and ideal of ‘one bread and one cup’.

On Tuesday 16th November 2021 in answer to supplementary questions, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7rAldeH2Oc&t=136s QQ38-43 approx.. 3:35:30.

(I understand an official transcript will eventually be available.)

I have attempt to type out the most relevant bits and sum up where all this might leave us. No doubt you'll put me right if you think I've erred. But I recommend watching the exchange in full. Even via the recording I think one can get a sense that the Bishops have not carried the whole of the room with them. There is clearly strong feeling that this has been and perhaps remains a mess.

So far the Bishops do not intend to bring forward legislation or give official permission for individual cups, it seems. The Bishop of Litchfield said on their behalf that the House of Bishops and individual bishops are not interested in policing this matter in an inquisitorial or punitive way. There is not necessarily an obligation to let your Diocesan bishop know that you are using individual cups. Experimentation is taking place and there will be an ongoing conversation. You will judge for yourself whether or not the message was just go ahead with this if you think this is the only workable solution in your local context. 

Especially interesting to me was The Revd Dr Andrew Atherstone's contention that the matter was more historically open than some might have been led to believe. In 1902, Archbishop Frederick Temple was said to have said that there was nothing illegal in the proposal of individual cups and that provision should be made by the church wardens or by the communicants themselves if it was desired.

 As Ian Paul notes in his latest post on this (scroll down to section 3) the relevant quotation is from: The Globe newspaper (26 April 1902):

On another question connected with the Holy Communion an important ruling has just been given by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Somebody has asked Dr Temple whether, in view of the possible danger of infection during the administration of the chalice, he would authorise the provision of small glasses into which the consecrated wine may be poured for individual consumption. We have not seen the words of the reply, but it is stated that the Archbishop declares there is nothing illegal in the proposal, the provision being made either by the churchwardens or by the communicant who himself desires it.

The legality question is somewhat open and has not been tested in court.

Some have questioned the importance of this, but there is nothing really more important than the Lord's Day Service. Cult drives culture and this is a matter of obedience to Christ. As Jesus said, we should seek to be faithful in tithing our herbs, whilst of course not neglecting the greater matters of the law like justice, mercy and faithfulness. The Eucharist is the central act of the gathered church's special worship where the church is most visible in the world. Of course how we do it matters very much. If it does not, we might as well leave The Book of Common Prayer and Common Worship on the shelf and get on with foodbanks or street preaching according to our theological tribe.

Some are concerned that we might look ridiculous to the watching world to be arguing about this. Perhaps we will. But Communion itself looks pretty odd to some. So does much of the dressing up and ritual of the church. Or its theological squabbles. Sometimes it is important to know how many angels can dance on the head of a pin (an infinite number, by the way, if we accept they have location but not extension).

If we worry about looking ridiculous, we might ask who or what is ridiculous?

A two year "ban" on wine for the laity at Communion? I could live with this for a couple of weeks either side of half term. Maybe "the get through this don't make a fuss" argument had some force then.

A Common cup during a pandemic? Some medics think that crazy and irresponsible. It seems some will be reluctant ever to return to a common cup. It is hard to think we would encourage it in any other context. I confess that drinking up the spittle of 100 people in the winter when some of them have nasty colds doesn't fill me with joy, though of course I am willing to do so. Some Christians are convinced that they will be miraculously protected from infection via the Eucharist or that silver or alcohol will work wonders, but the evidence is not good.

I can see that the symbolism of one cup and one loaf could be important and ideal. In many ways I would prefer a Common Cup myself. But the thing is that multiple cups and individual wafers are already allowed and are common. One might say the Vicar is using an individual cup now! The funny thing is that the NT stresses one loaf, but wafers have never been part of one loaf. One cup is much less clear in the Bible and we suspect multiple cups were used at the Passover.

If some are frightened (rightly or wrongly) to take a Common Cup, I think reasonable provision should be made for them. (As it seems to me it should be for alcoholics and celiacs too). We do not want to exclude anyone unnecessarily. 

Is the real worry reverent consumption of all the wine at the end? If so, let those with that concern be clear and specific about it. Why could all two hundred cups not be washed out with water (perhaps by the communicant, who then consumes the water) and then wiped with a cloth? Yes, this would be an enormous faff, but if it is the only way to lawfully obey the command of Jesus in the Church of England, let us spend 15 minutes after the service so that it can be done. (One might wonder whether consumption of every last drop of the wine is ever possible at a microscopic level even with a common cup). 

(For a Roman Catholic expression of this concern we may quote from The New Yorker: "We believe that the wine becomes the blood of Christ,” said Father Andrew Menke, who directs the Secretariat of Divine Worship at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (U.S.C.C.B.). “So the priest cleans the chalice very carefully. He doesn’t want drops going down the drain. He doesn’t want Christ’s blood in the sewer.”)

Surely it is not rocket science for the leadership of the church to find a solution that works for almost everyone. Even if some bishops do not like individual cups and do not want to use them themselves, surely the House of Bishops could publish some form of words which says to parishes that wish to use individual cups, blessings upon you, and maybe here is some best practice guidance to think about so that this can be done as well as possible and as many people as possible can be kept happy.

Dr Paul concludes: "What became apparent in the exchange [in General Synod Tues 16th Nov 2021] is that the House of Bishops have not offered any clear or convincing support for their prohibition on the use of individual cups at Communion, that there is actually a diversity of practice on the ground, and that this diversity will continue. I think it would help all concerned if we heard a simple admission: ‘We got it wrong’."" (Blog post linked above)

It is a great shame to see the sacrament somewhat distorted in the current manner and a cause of real sadness that this could be a cause of disunity.

Giving thanks in the Eucharist as Christ commanded, we could then more joyfully and unitedly get on with the vital, urgent and important task of world evangelisation without being seen to make an undue fuss about trivia or legalities. It would give us all joy, no doubt, to talk about something other than Anglican minutia,

(I would also love to know, by the way, whether individual cups are used in any other Provinces? I am told they are (Hong Kong and Tanzania being examples) but it would be nice to have a list / footnote. Presumably these Provinces have a version of the BCP / hold the BCP in high regard and do not think individual cups incompatible with it. Could be an excellent topic for the ABC to discuss at the next Lambeth Conference!)

(And what signal do our ecumenical partners think it sends to say that individual cups are of questionable legality or suitability? I am worried we are not being nice to the Baptist Union here. And was this discussed with the Methodist Church? I believe individual cups would sometimes be used in a Methodist / Anglican LEP for example? I understand that at least one Diocesan was incumbent of an LEP using individual cups 30 years ago.)

(As mentioned - was it hinted at - in the synod debate, if consecrated wine is taken to the sick or housebound after a Communion Service, this might give a precedent for some to use an individual (or household) cup for practical or medial reasons, perhaps shared with one minister only.)

I would love to see more from the General Synod, the House of Bishops and / or the Legal Advisor Commission on this but I fear this may be as good as it is going to get. And it is enough, I think. If the coming of Spring and booster vaccines don't solve all our problems, I am tempted to feel that the time will have come for incumbents to get on with it in consultation with their PCCs if that is what the local situation seems to demand. 

No doubt lovely expensive Communion sets are available but what is needed may not break the bank. Pleasant glasses are available at a very reasonable price on the high street. One need not use an ecclesiastical supplier. Wine could be consecrated in a common vessel. Households may wish to continue to use a common cup if feel able. There could still be a Common Cup for those who are keen on it. So we could do all we can to preserve the "one-ness" of the wine, even if we seem unconcerned about this if we use wafers!