(RNS) — As Christian churches cancel in-person services to avoid contracting or spreading the novel coronavirus, many have rushed to embrace “virtual” Communion: Some celebrate via livestream; others encourage parishioners to bring their own bread to Zoom videoconference meetings; and at least one United Church of Christ minister is upping the frequency of his online Communion because “our people need normalcy.”
But with churchgoers still holed up in their homes to avoid infection for weeks and even months to come, Christian leaders are starting to ask: Is Communion appropriate for cyberspace?
Clergy have expressed a variety of opinions on the topic in recent weeks, sparking debates — including among leaders within the same tradition.
Some challenge whether it should (or can) occur at all. For traditions such as Catholicism, where physically engaging with the Eucharistic bread and wine has long been a core part of the faith, parishioners have mostly taken to watching livestreams of priests celebrating Mass alone with the expectation of eventually returning to church to participate in the sacrament.
In the meantime, the Archdiocese of New York is encouraging believers to recite a prayer as an act of “spiritual communion,” which leaders defined as “an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly embrace him at a time or in…
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