Online Communion

The Issue

As online worship continued for an extended period, the question arose of how to observe Communion. At issue is whether it is truly the Lord's Supper when a pastor officiates by means of a screen and church members eat bread and drink grape juice at home.

Arguments in Favor

• What makes the Lord's Supper what it is are the Word and the Holy Spirit, and the work of the Holy Spirit is not bound by physical space.
• The real problem is excluding from Communion those members who cannot gather because of infectious disease, illness, disability, or distance.
• Worshiping together in real time amounts to gathering as one community at the same time.
• Traditions that understand the Lord's Supper as remembrance and confession (the memorial view in the Eucharistic controversies) find fewer obstacles.

Arguments Against

• The Lord's Supper is a communal meal in which believers "come together" (1 Corinthians 11:20, 33) and share one loaf. The sign of breaking and sharing one loaf is lost.
• The bread and cup are set apart by the Word and distributed by the officiant before the congregation. Elements prepared individually bypass that process.
• The Lord's Supper becomes an individual religious act, and it becomes impossible to examine whether participants are eligible to receive.
• When believers could not gather, the church's long-standing practice was to postpone the Lord's Supper and to long for it.

Denominational Responses

During the COVID-19 period, denominations responded in different ways. Some temporarily permitted online Communion or issued guidelines, while others did not permit it or deferred a decision. Anglicans and Lutherans, who celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday, were generally cautious, and compromise approaches were also tried, such as delivering bread and cup consecrated by the officiant to members' homes in advance.

Remaining Questions

Even after in-person worship resumed, there remain members who participate only online, members confined to sickbeds, and members overseas or serving on military bases. How to distinguish online Communion from, or connect it with, the traditional practice of bringing Communion to the sick remains an open question.