Babies Taking Communion?
Many denominations baptize infants, an act summed up in the cool sounding word paedobaptism. There are some Christians who also practice paedocommunion, or the giving of communion to infants.
Infant baptism is foreign to most evangelicals, and infant communion is foreign to both Protestants and Roman Catholics, being practiced chiefly by the Eastern Orthodox. I have not done any research on infant communion and will not make an argument for or against it here. The subject came of interest to me last night
I served communion to a pregnant woman in church yesterday. Nothing radical. That happens in all churches. I have never heard of a pregnant woman being excluded from communion. What makes this interesting is that the infant inside her is receiving communion just as its mother receives it, for are they not united and one? Especially from the Christian perspective that sees life beginning at conception, would not an infant partake of communion since conception, being nourished by the bread and cup, albeit through its mother?
This really interests me, and I think it will be an interesting topic to ponder in the coming weeks.
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My 13-month old eats a communion wafer every Sunday at our Episcopal church. I figure Jesus said to let the little children come to him. The only problem is that he wants to intinct like Mommy and Daddy, so the chalice has to go by pretty quickly
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I’m not sure how everyone feels, but for me, it’s a reminder of what I’m called to do as a stay-at-home dad. It reminds me that he is God’s child as much, if not more, than he is my child. It reminds me that God lives in him, just as God lives in me, and that I can encounter God through my child and through interacting with him.
And, it keeps him reasonably quiet.
I didn’t know the practice was so foreign for most of the Christian world. I’m unorthodox even when I’m not trying to be!
David, thank you for sharing about your child. This concept is foreign to me, and many Protestants rediscovering the vast variety of Christian practices throughout the history of the church. For me, it is heartening that just because something is foreign doesn’t mean it is unorthodox…it might also mean that different sects of Christianity have moved away from orthodoxy! I think that many Protestants are realizing the sacramental in the "ordinances" as they say, among other things. I hope you continue to comment as this thought process progresses…it’s a work in progress!