Conceding that there was considerable email reaction to the recent House of Bishops’ statement on the eucharist, Primate Fred Hiltz defended the bishops’ unanimous position that Holy Communion is reserved for the baptized.
Baptism is the rite that admits people into the Christian community, making them eligible to partake of the meal at the Lord’s table. “The eucharist is a sacrament intended for the baptized,” Archbishop Hiltz said in an interview, adding that this is a basic article of church teaching.
He acknowledged that in some churches unbaptized people do come forward to take communion. “There’s no ticket taking at the altar,” he said. “We don’t ask everyone, ‘Are you baptized?’ ”
Although the bishops upheld the reservation, the primate stressed that they “are prepared to have a conversation about what Christian hospitality means in relation to the Lord’s table.”
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