| Part ofa series on the |
| Eucharist |
|---|
 |
Denominational teachings |
Infant communion, also known aspaedocommunion, refers to the practice of giving theEucharist, often in the form ofconsecrated wine mingled with consecrated bread, to young children. This practice is standard throughoutEastern Christianity, where communion is given at theDivine Liturgy to allbaptized andchrismated church members regardless of age. Infant communion is less common in most ofWestern Christianity.
Support for infant communion is drawn from several gospel verses, includingMatthew 19:14 andMark 10:14. Among theChurch Fathers,Cyprian,Augustine, andLeo the Great explicitly favored infant communion.[1]
In theEarly Church, everyone who attended theLiturgy of the Faithful was expected to receive communion; catechumens and penitents were not present for theconsecration. The Early Church permitted and encouraged parents to present their children to receive communion. TheApostolic Constitutions (4th century) instruct that children are to receive communion after the various orders of clergy and consecratedlaity and before the general congregation.
With no practical difficulties or theological qualms with giving communion to young children, this practice continues in theEastern Orthodox Church to this day.
The practice of allowing young children to receive communion has fallen into disfavor in the Latin-Rite of the Catholic Church. Latin-Rite Catholics generally refrain from infant communion and instead have a special ceremony when the child receives his or herFirst Communion, usually around the age of seven or eight years old. This is in accordance with theCode of Canon Law (followed in the Roman Rite), which states:
The administration of the Most Holy Eucharist to children requires that they have sufficient knowledge and careful preparation so that they understand the mystery of Christ according to their capacity and are able to receive the body of Christ with faith and devotion.
— Canon 913
The reason given for the non-necessity of infant communion was articulated by theCouncil of Trent:
The same holy council teaches that little children who have not attained the use of reason are not by any necessity bound to the sacramental communion of the Eucharist; for having been regenerated by the laver of baptism and thereby incorporated with Christ, they cannot at that age lose the grace of the sons of God already acquired. Antiquity is not therefore to be condemned, however, if in some places it at one time observed that custom. For just as those most holy Fathers had acceptable ground for what they did under the circumstances, so it is certainly to be accepted without controversy that they regarded it as not necessary to salvation.
— Council of Trent, Sess. XXI, chap. iv
Thus, the Council declared:
If anyone says that communion of the Eucharist is necessary for little children before they have attained the years of discretion, let him be anathema.
— Council of Trent, Sess. XXI, can. iv
Formerly, theEastern Churches infull communion with theRoman Pope were generally required to conform toWestern Church practice, in violation of the far more ancient practice of the Eastern Churches. However, theSecond Vatican Council's decreeOrientalium Ecclesiarum, although not specifically addressing infant communion, states that the Council "confirms and approves the ancient discipline of the sacraments existing in the Oriental Churches, as also the ritual practices connected with their celebration and administration and ardently desires that this should be re-established if circumstances warrant it" (Section 12).
This has led some of these Churches to restore the ancient practice of permitting infant communion.
TheCode of Canons of the Eastern Churches (followed by the Eastern Catholic Churches) permits infant communion:
With respect to the participation of infants in the Divine Eucharist after baptism and chrismation with holy myron, the prescriptions of the liturgical books of each Church sui iuris are to be observed with the suitable due precautions
— Canon 710
In theOrthodox Church, any person of any age receives communion as soon as possible afterbaptism andchrismation, usually at the nextDivine Liturgy. Young children are not usually required tofast or go toconfession before communion until they are old enough to be aware of theirsins, usually eight to nine years old.
In the Orthodox practice, theconsecrated bread and wine are placed together in the chalice, and thepriest administers communion with a small spoon. Infants typically receive a small amount of consecratedBlood of Christ (wine), which mingles with theBody (bread) of Christ; older children receive the consecrated Body of Christ (bread) as well. There is no theological (orepistemological) reason for withholding the bread from infants; it is merely the practical concern of not giving solid food to those not ready for it.
 | The examples and perspective in this sectiondeal primarily with the United States and do not represent aworldwide view of the subject. You mayimprove this section, discuss the issue on thetalk page, or create a new section, as appropriate.(March 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Infant communion is not the norm in theLutheran Church. At most churches in theELCA (as well as nearly 25% in theLCMS[2]),First Communion instruction is provided to baptized children generally between the ages of 6–8 and, after a relatively short period ofcatechetical instruction, the children are admitted to partake of the Eucharist.[3] In some LCMS churches, however, the person must have receiveConfirmation before receiving the Eucharist. As a whole, the ELCA teaches that the gift of communion is given at baptism; it is just that some more conservative churches choose to keep a tradition that children should be more aware of what communion means before they partake. Young children can receive holy communion in the ELCA and some European Lutheran bodies along with those who haven't received the catechetical instruction (or Confirmation) may be brought to the communion distribution by their parents to be blessed by the pastor.
TheEvangelical Catholic Church, a now defunct denomination whose theology was partially based on Lutheranism (although also with some influence from Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), differed from most Lutherans in embracing the practice of infant communion.[4]
Martin Luther'sTable Talk recorded his thoughts on the subject:
It was asked, did the Hussites well in administering the sacrament to young children, on the allegation that the graces of God apply equally to all human creatures? Dr. Luther replied: they were undoubtedly wrong, since young children need not the communion for their salvation; but still the innovation could not be regarded as a sin of the Hussites, since St Cyprian, long ago, set them the example.[5]
Practice varies widely throughout theAnglican Communion and among those Anglican churches that are not affiliated with the Anglican Communion.Open communion is practiced in some churches. TheChurch of England at the moment requires that people be "ready and desirous" ofconfirmation before receiving communion.[6] However, there have been experiments with communion before confirmation in some of its dioceses. The Church of England also allows baptised regular communicants from otherTrinitarian churches to receive communion when visiting a CofE church.[7] This permission would seem, therefore, to extend to infants in the practice of receiving in their own churches; but in many of the world's Anglican churches the invitation so extended includes a specific reference to "adult" visitors.
ManyMainline Protestants practiceopen communion, in which the bread and wine/juice is offered to the people without discrimination of age or denominational status. In these churches, while the very young often commune, it is unusual for infants to receive the Eucharist.
Denominations which practiceclosed communion generally deny the Eucharist to those not members of their congregation or denomination, regardless of age.
In churches where membership is often not permitted until the teenage years (for example, theAmish), infant communion is very rare.
In recent years, the Eastern practice of paedocommunion has gained considerable attention in the West, including among some conservative Protestants.
Notable conservative Protestants in favor of the practice arePeter Leithart,Robert S. Rayburn,R. C. Sproul, Jr.,Douglas Wilson,Rousas John Rushdoony,James B. Jordan,Gary North, andSteve Wilkins.
The Federation of Reformed Churches practices paedocommunion in all its churches as do some congregations within theCommunion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. TheChristian Reformed Church and theReformed Episcopal Church, a conservativeAnglican denomination, also are tolerant of the practice, and many conservativePresbyterians favor paedocommunion as well. In thePresbyterian Church in America, doctrinal acceptance of paedocommunion is tolerated though the practice itself is not allowed.
