The Anglican Communion has denied media reports that gluten-free bread and non-alcoholic wine are being banned from Holy Communion services.
People suffering from celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder affecting one in 100 people worldwide, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation, are unable to digest normal wheat bread because of the immune response attacking the small intestine. For Christians with this disease and other wheat allergies, this means they need gluten-free bread or wafers when taking Holy Communion.
Similarly, people who are allergic to alcohol or have suffered alcohol-related addictions are unable to drink normal wine and require non-alcoholic wine when remembering what Jesus did on the cross.
PA Media reported: “Non-alcoholic wine and gluten-free bread cannot be used during Holy Communion, the governing body of the Church of England has ruled.
“Church guidance says the bread must be made using wheat flour and wine must be the fermented juice of the grape in order to be consecrated as part of the service,” the PA article added, citing papers published before the forthcoming Church General Synod.
The Guardian, a left-wing British newspaper, similarly reported that the Rev. Canon Alice Kemp, ahead of the General Synod meeting, asked if “consideration be given to enable the legal use of gluten-free and alcohol-free elements at the Eucharist to remove the injustice of this exclusion?
“Both priests and congregants who are unable to consume gluten and/or alcohol are forced to receive in one kind only (i.e. bread or wine) or may be prohibited from receiving both elements if they are unable to consume both gluten and alcohol.”
The Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt. Rev. Michael Ipgrave, who chairs the church’s liturgical commission, reportedly responded: “Receiving Holy Communion in one kind in a case of necessity is not an ‘exclusion’ but full participation in the sacrament, as often practiced in the communion of the sick, or with children.”
“Indeed, even believers who cannot physically receive the sacrament are to be assured that they are partakers by faith of the body and blood of Christ, and of the benefits he conveys to us by them,” he reportedly said.
However, Janet Miles, director of public engagement at the Anglican Communion Office, confirmed to Christian Daily International that gluten-free wafers and non-alcoholic wine have not been barred from Holy Communion services. She cited an Anglican Communion statement published yesterday (Feb. 10), refuting such claims.
“No, we’re not banning ‘gluten-free’ bread or ‘non-alcoholic’ Communion wine,” read the Anglican Communion statement. “Contrary to recent reports following a question asked by a General Synod member, the Church of England is not banning ‘gluten-free’ wafers nor ‘non-alcoholic’ wine at Communion.
“Church of England churches across the country routinely offer ‘gluten-free’ bread or ‘non-alcoholic’ wine at Holy Communion. Many professional ecclesiastical suppliers have long provided wine or bread which may contain tiny traces of alcohol or wheat that can legitimately be considered non-alcoholic or gluten-free.”
Coeliac UK has a list of approved products, the press statement added.
“We hope this helps clarify and avoid further confusion!”
