Lay Presidency at the Lord’s Supper: Opening a Debate for the Church

http://www.reform-ireland.org/index.php?p=101&r=1

{Reform Irleand] December 21, 2005--In terms of its present practice with regard to the Lord's Supper the Church of Ireland might easily be accused of a creeping Catholicism. Whereas for the most part the entire congregation now joins in the erstwhile 'priestly' words of the Collect for Purity and the Prayer of Humble Access, or again it is admissible for a licensed lay reader to read, or preach, or even pronounce absolution in the first person plural form, only the ordained minister, and an ordained presbyter at that, is permitted to preside at the Lord's Table during the Prayer of Consecration. In a church which claims to be biblically reformed and reforming this surely must be questioned - if ever there were a case of Protestant priestcraft, this is it! For evangelicals who remain opposed to the use of stoles because of the division of word and sacrament which they imply, such a pattern is tantamount to a 'vestiture of praxis' in that the opportunity to serve for those who are otherwise seen as leaders in the local church is denied at this crucial point. Perhaps the time is now right for some considered reflection and courageous thinking as to how this restriction might be ended.