Communion wine cannot be alcohol-free, Church rules

Non-alcoholic wine and gluten-free bread should not be used as substitutes during Holy Communion, the governing body of the Church of England has ruled.

The guidance by the mother church of the Anglican tradition makes it clear that bread must be made from wheat flour and wine must be the fermented juice of the grape in order to be consecrated as part of the service.

In papers released ahead of the Church’s General Synod, which opens on Monday, the barrier for those who are unable to consume wheat flour or alcohol was described as an “injustice”.

Holy Communion is one of the central sacraments of the Christian faith, with the bread and wine symbolising the body and blood of Christ.

Bread alternatives made from rice or potato flour are not allowed to be substitutes, although wheat flour can be processed to remove substantial amounts of gluten and alcohol can be removed after the fermentation process, but a residue will always remain.

The Church’s governing body came under fire from Synod member Canon Alice Kemp, who asked: “Can 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 or may be prohibited from receiving both elements if they are unable to consume both gluten and alcohol.”

‘Not an exclusion’
But the Rt Rev Michael Ipgrave, the Bishop of Lichfield and chairman of the Church’s Liturgical Commission, said such a move would have to overturn two settled positions in the Church of England.

“First, that bread made with wheat and the fermented juice of the grape are the elements to be consecrated in holy communion; and second, that receiving holy communion in one kind in a case of necessity is not an ‘exclusion’ but full participation in the sacrament, as often practised in the communion of the sick, or with children,” Bishop Ipgrave said.

“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 added.

The legal advisory also underlines that people who have coeliac disease or alcoholism are still obliged to follow the ruling, although they are able to only consume one of the items to suit their health needs.

At least one in 100 people in the UK have coeliac disease, according to NHS figures. While latest official findings show there were an estimated 608,416 adults with alcohol dependence in England in 2019 to 2020.

Monday’s meeting of the General Synod is the first since the Rt Rev Justin Welby resigned as the Archbishop of Canterbury in November, in what has been described as a time of “unprecedented crisis” over abuse failings.

The Most Rev Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, who is standing-in for Mr Welby, will deliver an opening address to the meeting in London, but has faced his own calls to quit over safeguarding failures.

The General Synod will enter five days of debate and various votes as the Church’s handling of abuse cases is scrutinised again.

Amid rumours of a no-confidence motion in Mr Cottrell, some members of Synod have said it is not appropriate for him to give the opening address. In response, Mr Cottrell has pledged to offer “reflections on how we can be a church which is more transparent and accountable”.

After Mr Welby stepped down questions were raised as to whether Mr Cottrell was the right person to steer the church through the crisis following reports that he twice reappointed a priest involved in a sexual abuse scandal.