Thou shalt not use alcohol-free wine for Communion
Critics have long accused the modern Church of England of being swayed by every passing trend and fad.
Now, however, it seems to have drawn a line in the sand — with a defiant refusal to allow non-alcoholic wine and gluten-free bread to be served at Holy Communion.
Its decision follows complaints that the lack of such a choice for services was an “injustice”.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Church law states that bread must be made using wheat flour and wine must be the fermented juice of a grape for it to be consecrated by a priest.
But ahead of today’s General Synod meeting, the Church’s ruling body was asked for the rules to be changed for those who cannot drink alcohol or eat gluten.
Synod member Rev Canon Alice Kemp asked if canon laws could be amended “to enable the legal use of gluten free and alcohol free elements at the Eucharist to remove the injustice of this exclusion”.
Ms Kemp said people “may be prohibited from receiving both elements (bread and wine) if they were unable to consume both gluten and alcohol”.
However Michael Ipgrave, the Bishop of Lichfield and chairman of the Church’s Liturgical Commission, said doing so would overturn the settled position of the Church “that bread made with wheat and the fermented juice of the grape are the elements to be consecrated in Holy Communion”.
He added that even Christians who could not physically receive the sacrament of Holy Communion were “to be assured that they are partakers by faith of the body and blood of Christ”.
Holy Communion is one of the central sacraments of the faith, with the bread and wine symbolising the body and blood of Christ.
Canon B 17 of the Church states communion wine should be “the fermented juice of the grape, good and wholesome” and the bread “whether leavened or unleavened, shall be of the best and purest wheat flour”.
The Church has previously allowed gluten-reduced communion wafer made using specially processed wheat but alternatives made from non-wheat flour are not permitted.
The Catholic Church does not allow gluten-free bread to be used during mass.
In 2017 the Vatican said: “Hosts that are completely gluten-free are invalid matter”.
However, it has approved the use of mustum — a non-alcoholic grape juice — for congregants and “priests suffering from alcoholism”.
