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Holy Communion and Infection

Under normal circumstances, the risk of a disease being transferred by sharing the chalice for Holy Communion is negligible. The Archbishop of Canterbury has received medical advice that there is negligible danger of HIV being spread in this way.

As an act of care towards other members of the community, communicants with a cold sore or other infection in the mouth, or who are likely to cough or sneeze while receiving communion, are strongly urged to refrain from the chalice, and to receive the Body of Christ in their hand rather than on the tongue.

In the light of the current potential threat posed by Swine Flu, ministers of Holy Communion are encouraged to read the notes issued by Lancaster Diocese.

In Scripture, the Lord promises that his followers would "drink deadly poison and not be harmed" (Mark 16:18). St Paul was unharmed by a snakebite (Acts 28:1-6), and traditionally, St Benedict was preserved from drinking a poisoned chalice. But there is no promise in Scripture that we will be miraculously preserved from disease just because we have gathered for worship or because what we are touching is the Body and Blood of Christ. On the contrary, prudence is one of the four cardinal virtues (Catechism 1806).

We are a people both of faith and of prudent action. Therefore, let us act prudently in doing what we can, to minimise the risk of infection, and place our faith in the God who can control what we cannot.