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Church suspends sharing of chalice to combat swine flu
In an an unprecedented order, the Church of England has directed priests to suspend the sharing of the chalice at communion in a bid to combat the spread of swine flu in Britain.
In an an unprecedented order, the Church of England has directed priests to suspend the sharing of the chalice at communion in a bid to combat the spread of swine flu in Britain.
Anglicans receive bread, or hosts, and consecrated wine sipped from a shared chalice while kneeling at the altar rail during Communion services, symbolic of the body and blood of Christ.
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have written to bishops in the Church of England to suspend the "sharing of the chalice" at services of Holy Communion as a precaution against "swine flu pandemic" following advice by the Department of Health not to share "common vessels" for food or drink.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishops of Canterbury asked the bishops to spread the order to clergy at each of the 16,000 parish churches throughout Britain, the Times online reported n friday.
"In the light of this advice, we recommend those presiding at Holy Communion suspend the administration of the chalice during this wave of pandemic flu," the Archbishops said, even as some bishops have already taken the step.
It is an unprecedented order as even when plague gripped Britain in the 17th century, churches were not directed to take such a precaution, the report said.
