Eucharist

==Practice and customs==
===Open and closed communion===
{{Main|Open communion|Closed communion|Full communion}}
[[File:Eucharist001.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|In the [[Latin Church]] of the [[Catholic Church]], the administration of the Eucharist to children requires that they have sufficient knowledge and careful preparation to receive the body of Christ with faith and devotion.]]

[[Christianity|Christian]] denominations differ in their understanding of whether they may celebrate the Eucharist with those with whom they are not in [[full communion]]. The apologist [[Justin Martyr]] ({{c.|150}}) wrote of the Eucharist "of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0126.htm|title=Church Fathers: The First Apology (St. Justin Martyr)|website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> This was continued in the practice of dismissing the [[catechumen]]s (those still undergoing instruction and not yet baptized) before the sacramental part of the liturgy, a custom which has left traces in the expression "[[Mass of the Catechumens]]" and in the [[Byzantine Rite]] exclamation by the deacon or priest, "The doors! The doors!", just before recitation of the Creed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oca.org/reflections/berzonsky/the-doors|title=The Doors|first=Vladimir|last=Berzonsky|website=www.oca.org|date=24 January 2010 }}</ref>

Churches such as the [[Catholic]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox]] Churches practice [[closed communion]] under normal circumstances. However, the Catholic Church allows administration of the Eucharist, at their spontaneous request, to properly disposed members of the eastern churches ([[Eastern Orthodox]], [[Oriental Orthodox]] and [[Church of the East]]) not in full communion with it and of other churches that the [[Holy See]] judges to be sacramentally in the same position as these churches; and in grave and pressing need, such as danger of death, it allows the Eucharist to be administered also to individuals who do not belong to these churches but who share the Catholic Church's faith in the reality of the Eucharist and have no access to a minister of their own community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P2S.HTM |title=Code of Canon Law, canon 844 |publisher=Intratext.com |date=2007-05-04 |access-date=2019-05-16}}</ref> Some [[Protestant]] communities exclude non-members from Communion.

The [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] (ELCA) practices open communion, provided those who receive are baptized,<ref>[http://www.religionresourcesonline.org/different-types-of-religion/evangelical-lutheran.php Evangelical Lutheran] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707222431/http://www.religionresourcesonline.org/different-types-of-religion/evangelical-lutheran.php |date=7 July 2011 }}. Retrieved 2013–03–23.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Ecumenical-and-Inter-Religious-Relations/Full-Communion-Partners.aspx |title=ELCA Full Communion Partners |publisher=Elca.org |access-date=2019-05-16}}</ref> but the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] and the [[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]] (WELS) practice closed communion, excluding non-members and requiring communicants to have been given [[Luther's Small Catechism|catechetical]] instruction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wels.net/faq/close-communion-and-membership/|title=Close communion and membership|website=WELS|date=14 May 2015 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=3285 "Guidelines for Congregational, District, and Synodical Communion Statements"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009175326/http://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=3285 |date=9 October 2016 }} ''www.lcms.org''. Retrieved 2016–12–28.</ref> The [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada]], the [[Evangelical Church in Germany]], the [[Church of Sweden]], and many other Lutheran churches outside of the U.S. also practice open communion.

Some use the term "close communion" for restriction to members of the same denomination, and "closed communion" for restriction to members of the local congregation alone.

Most [[Protestant]] communities including [[Congregational churches]], the [[Church of the Nazarene]], the [[Assemblies of God]], [[Methodism|Methodists]], most [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterians]] and [[Baptist]]s, [[Anglicanism|Anglicans]], and [[Churches of Christ]] and other [[Nondenominational Christianity|non-denominational churches]] practice various forms of [[open communion]]. Some churches do not limit it to only members of the congregation, but to any people in attendance (regardless of Christian affiliation) who consider themselves to be Christian. Others require that the communicant be a baptized person, or a member of a church of that denomination or a denomination of "like faith and practice". Some Progressive Christian congregations offer communion to any individual who wishes to commemorate the life and teachings of Christ, regardless of religious affiliation.{{efn|In most United Church of Christ local churches, the Communion Table is "open to all Christians who wish to know the presence of Christ and to share in the community of God's people".<ref>(Book of Worship). [http://www.ucc.org/worship/communion/ Holy Communion: A Practice of Faith in the United Church of Christ]</ref>}}

Most Latter-Day Saint churches practice closed communion; one notable exception is the [[Community of Christ]], the second-largest denomination in this movement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cofchrist.org/sacraments/communion.asp|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226040957/http://www.cofchrist.org/sacraments/communion.asp|url-status=dead|title=Community of Christ: Communion|archivedate=26 February 2011}}</ref> While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the largest of the LDS denominations) technically practice a closed communion, their official direction to local Church leaders (in Handbook 2, section 20.4.1, last paragraph) is as follows: "Although the sacrament is for Church members, the bishopric should not announce that it will be passed to members only, and nothing should be done to prevent nonmembers from partaking of it."<ref>{{cite web |title=20. Priesthood Ordinances and Blessings |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/handbook-2-administering-the-church/priesthood-ordinances-and-blessings/priesthood-ordinances-and-blessings |website=ChurchofJesusChrist.org |access-date=14 September 2018 }}</ref>

In the [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]] the Eucharist is only given to those who have come prepared to receive the life-giving body and blood. Therefore, in a manner to worthily receive, believers fast the night before the liturgy, from around 6pm or the conclusion of evening prayer, and remain fasting until they receive Holy Qurbana the next morning. Additionally, members who plan to receive the holy communion have to follow a strict guide of prescribed prayers from the [[Shehimo]], or the book of common prayers, for the week.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ministry of Liturgical Development |title=Service Book of the Holy Qurbono |date= 2017 |publisher=Malankara Orthodox Church Publications |location=Devalokam, Kottayam |isbn=978-0-9972544-4-0 |edition=1st}}</ref>

===Preparation===
{{Main|Eucharistic discipline}}

====Catholic====
The Catholic Church requires its members to receive the [[Sacraments of the Catholic Church|sacrament]] of [[Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)|Penance or Reconciliation]] before taking Communion if they are aware of having committed a [[mortal sin]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P39.HTM|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628182123/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P39.HTM|url-status=dead|title=Code of Canon Law, canon 916|archivedate=28 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/la/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_19901018_codex-can-eccl-orient-2.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130144307/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_19901018_codex-can-eccl-orient-2_lt.html#TITULUS_XVI|url-status=dead|title=Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum orientalium, die XVIII Octobris anno MCMXC – Ioannes Paulus PP. II &#124; Ioannes Paulus II|archivedate=30 November 2012|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref> and to prepare by fasting, prayer, and other works of piety.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P39.HTM|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628182123/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P39.HTM|url-status=dead|title=Code of Canon Law, canon 919|archive-date=28 June 2011}}</ref>

====Eastern Orthodox====
Traditionally, the Eastern Orthodox church has required its members to have observed all church-appointed fasts (most weeks, this will be at least Wednesday and Friday) for the week prior to partaking of communion, and to fast from all food and water from midnight the night before. In addition, Orthodox Christians are to have made a recent confession to their priest (the frequency varying with one's particular priest),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.orthodoxchristian.info/pages/communion.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080721004058/http://www.orthodoxchristian.info/pages/Communion.htm|url-status=dead|title=Preparing to Receive Holy Communion|archive-date=21 July 2008}}</ref> and they must be at peace with all others, meaning that they hold no grudges or anger against anyone.<ref name="How to Prepare for the Eucharist">{{Cite web|url=http://www.stgeorgegoc.org/eucharist.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509063618/http://www.stgeorgegoc.org/eucharist.html|url-status=dead|title=How to Prepare for the Eucharist|archive-date=9 May 2013}}</ref> In addition, one is expected to attend [[Vespers]] or the [[All-Night Vigil]], if offered, on the night before receiving communion.<ref name="How to Prepare for the Eucharist"/> Furthermore, various pre-communion prayers have been composed, which many (but not all) Orthodox churches require or at least strongly encourage members to say privately before coming to the Eucharist.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stlukeorthodox.com/html/parishinfo/preparation.cfm |title=Preparation for Holy Communion |publisher=Stlukeorthodox.com |date=2001-02-04 |access-date=2019-05-16 |archive-date=25 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125015935/http://www.stlukeorthodox.com/html/parishinfo/preparation.cfm |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, all this will typically vary from priest to priest and jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but abstaining from food and water for several hours beforehand is a fairly universal rule.

====Protestant confessions====
Many Protestant congregations generally reserve a period of time for self-examination and private, silent confession just before partaking in the Lord's Supper.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

===Adoration===
[[File:London September 2021 Eucharist Procession and Worship.jpg|thumb|Worshippers kneel and bow in the street during the Eucharist Procession, London, England.]]
{{Further|Eucharistic adoration}}
[[File:Eucharistic Adoration.jpg|thumb|upright|The Eucharist displayed in a [[monstrance]], flanked by candles]]
Eucharistic adoration is a practice in the [[Latin Church]], Anglo-Catholic and some Lutheran traditions, in which the [[#Other terms|Blessed Sacrament]] is exposed to and adored by the faithful. When this exposure and adoration is constant (twenty-four hours a day), it is called "Perpetual Adoration". In a parish, this is usually done by volunteer parishioners; in a [[monastery]] or convent, it is done by the resident [[monk]]s or [[nun]]s. In the ''Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament'', the Eucharist is displayed in a [[monstrance]], typically placed on an altar, at times with a light focused on it, or with candles flanking it.

===Health issues===
====Gluten====
{{Main|Coeliac disease#Christian churches and the Eucharist}}
The [[gluten]] in wheat bread is dangerous to people with [[celiac disease]] and other [[gluten-related disorders]], such as [[non-celiac gluten sensitivity]] and [[wheat allergy]].<ref name=MulderWanrooijQuotation>{{cite journal |vauthors=Mulder CJ, van Wanrooij RL, Bakker SF, Wierdsma N, Bouma G |title=Gluten-free diet in gluten-related disorders |journal=Dig. Dis. |volume=31|issue=1|pages=57–62|date=2013|pmid=23797124|doi=10.1159/000347180 |s2cid=14124370 |type= Review |quote= The only treatment for [[coeliac disease|CD]], [[dermatitis herpetiformis]] (DH) and [[gluten ataxia]] is lifelong adherence to a [[gluten-free diet|GFD]].}}</ref><ref name=HischenhuberCrevelQuotation>{{cite journal |vauthors=Hischenhuber C, Crevel R, Jarry B, Mäki M, Moneret-Vautrin DA, Romano A, Troncone R, Ward R|title=Review article: safe amounts of gluten for patients with wheat allergy or coeliac disease |journal=Aliment Pharmacol Ther |volume=23|issue=5|pages=559–75|date=1 March 2006|pmid =16480395|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2036.2006.02768.x |s2cid=9970042 |quote=For both [[wheat allergy]] and coeliac disease the dietary avoidance of wheat and other gluten-containing cereals is the only effective treatment.|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=VoltaCaio2015Quotation>{{cite journal |vauthors=Volta U, Caio G, De Giorgio R, Henriksen C, Skodje G, Lundin KE|title=Non-celiac gluten sensitivity: a work-in-progress entity in the spectrum of wheat-related disorders |journal=Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol |volume=29|issue=3|pages=477–91|date=Jun 2015 |pmid=26060112 |doi=10.1016/j.bpg.2015.04.006 |quote=A recently proposed approach to [[non-celiac gluten sensitivity|NCGS]] diagnosis is an objective improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms and extra-intestinal manifestations assessed through a rating scale before and after [[gluten-free diet|GFD]]. Although a standardized symptom rating scale is not yet applied worldwide, a recent study indicated that a decrease of the global symptom score higher than 50% after GFD can be regarded as confirmatory of NCGS (Table 1) [53]. […] After the confirmation of NCGS diagnosis, according to the previously mentioned work-up, patients are advized to start with a GFD [49].}}</ref> For the Catholic Church, this issue was addressed in the 24 July 2003 letter<ref>[http://www.adoremus.org/CDF_Lowgluten-mustum2003.html letter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229140229/http://www.adoremus.org/CDF_Lowgluten-mustum2003.html |date=29 December 2010 }}</ref> of the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]], which summarized and clarified earlier declarations. The Catholic Church believes that the matter for the Eucharist must be wheaten bread and fermented wine from grapes: it holds that, if the gluten has been entirely removed, the result is not true wheaten bread.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur47.htm |title=Gluten-free Hosts |access-date=2008-04-22 |last=McNamara |first=Father Edward |date=2004-09-14 |work=ZENIT International News Agency |archive-date=4 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080504055320/http://www.ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur47.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> For celiacs, but not generally, it allows low-gluten bread. It also permits Holy Communion to be received under the form of either bread or wine alone, except by a priest who is celebrating Mass without other priests or as principal celebrant.<ref>The same 24 July 2003 letter of the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]].</ref> Many Protestant churches offer communicants gluten-free alternatives to wheaten bread, usually in the form of a rice-based or other gluten-free wafer.<ref>Jax Peter Lowell, [https://books.google.com/books?id=IRhm1A2_EkkC ''The Gluten-Free Bible''], p. 279.</ref>

===={{anchor|Alcohol}}Alcohol====
{{See also|Christian views on alcohol}}
The Catholic Church believes that grape juice that has not begun even minimally to ferment cannot be accepted as wine, which it sees as essential for celebration of the Eucharist. For non-alcoholics, but not generally, it allows the use of [[mustum]] (grape juice in which fermentation has begun but has been suspended without altering the nature of the juice), and it holds that "since Christ is sacramentally present under each of the species, communion under the species of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit of Eucharistic grace. For pastoral reasons, this manner of receiving communion has been legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P42.HTM|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616060732/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P42.HTM|url-status=dead|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church – IntraText|archivedate=16 June 2012|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref>

As already indicated, the one exception is in the case of a priest celebrating Mass without other priests or as principal celebrant. The water that in the [[Roman Rite]] is prescribed to be mixed with the wine must be only a relatively small quantity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P3A.HTM|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204185953/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P3A.HTM|url-status=dead|title=Code of Canon Law, canon 924 §1|archivedate=4 December 2010}}</ref> The practice of the [[Coptic Church]] is that the mixture should be two parts wine to one part water.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/thecopticchurch/sacraments/4_eucharist.html |title=Sacrament of the Eucharist: Rite of Sanctification of the Chalice |publisher=Copticchurch.net |access-date=2019-05-16}}</ref>

Some Protestant churches allow communion in a non-alcoholic form, either normatively or as a pastoral exception. Since the invention of the necessary technology, grape juice which has been [[pasteurization|pasteurized]] to stop the fermentation process the juice naturally undergoes and de-alcoholized wine from which most of the alcohol has been removed (between 0.5% and 2% remains) are commonly used, and more rarely water may be offered.<ref>Compare John Howard Spahr, [http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1605 I Smell the Cup] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921224625/http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1605 |date=21 September 2008 }}, ''Christian Century'', 12 March 1974, pp. 257–59.</ref> Exclusive use of unfermented grape juice is common in [[Baptist]] churches, the [[United Methodist Church]], [[Seventh-day Adventists]], [[Christian Churches/Churches of Christ]], [[Churches of Christ]], [[Church of God (Anderson, Indiana)]], some [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], [[Assemblies of God]], [[Pentecostals]], [[Evangelicals]], the [[Christian Missionary Alliance]], and other American [[Nondenominational Christianity|independent]] Protestant churches.

====Transmission of diseases====
{{See also|Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on religion}}
Risk of infectious disease transmission related to use of a common communion cup exists but it is low. No case of transmission of an infectious disease related to a common communion cup has ever been documented. Experimental studies have demonstrated that infectious diseases can be transmitted. The most likely diseases to be transmitted would be common viral illnesses such as the [[common cold]]. A study of 681 individuals found that taking communion up to daily from a common cup did not increase the risk of infection beyond that of those who did not attend services at all.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Risk of Infectious Disease Transmission from a Common Communion Cup |first1=Lilia P. |last1=Manangan |first2=Lynne M. |last2=Sehulster |first3=Linda |last3=Chiarello |first4=Dawn N. |last4=Simonds |first5=William R. |last5=Jarvis |journal=American Journal of Infection Control |date=October 1998 |volume=26 |issue=5 |pages=538–39 |url=http://www.ntnl.org/index.php/component/docman/doc_download/470-common-cup-cdc |doi=10.1016/s0196-6553(98)70029-x |pmid=9795685 |access-date=2 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203012335/http://www.ntnl.org/index.php/component/docman/doc_download/470-common-cup-cdc |archive-date=3 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Pellerin | first1 = J. | last2 = Edmond | first2 = M. B. | doi = 10.1016/j.ijid.2013.05.001 | title = Infections associated with religious rituals | journal = International Journal of Infectious Diseases | volume = 17 | issue = 11 | pages = e945–48 | year = 2013 | pmid =  23791225| doi-access = free }}</ref>

In influenza epidemics, some churches suspend the giving wine at communion, for fear of spreading the disease. This is in full accord with Catholic Church belief that communion under the form of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit of Eucharistic grace. However, the same measure has also been taken by churches that normally insist on the importance of receiving communion under both forms. This was done in 2009 by the [[Church of England]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christiantoday.com/article/archbishops.advise.against.sharing.chalice.during.swine.flu.pandemic/23882.htm |title=Archbishops advise against sharing chalice during swine flu pandemic |publisher=Christiantoday.com |date=2009-07-27 |access-date=2019-05-16}}</ref>

Some fear contagion through the handling involved in distributing the hosts to the communicants, even if they are placed on the hand rather than on the tongue. Accordingly, some churches use mechanical wafer dispensers or "pillow packs" (communion wafers with wine inside them). While these methods of distributing communion are not generally accepted in Catholic parishes, one parish provides a mechanical dispenser to allow those intending to commune to place in a bowl, without touching them by hand, the hosts for use in the celebration.<ref>{{cite news| first= Sumathi |last=Reddy |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704415104576065982762908782 |title= Hands Off After Wafer Scare| newspaper= Wall Street Journal| date=7 January 2011| access-date=2012-10-12}}</ref>