Chaplains: St. Margaret's Episcopal School


	Partaking and Distributing Holy Eucharist


	When	How
	Early Church	Worshippers come up to a railing demarcating the sanctuary to receive communion standing.
	Patristic Period	Receive the bread in your hands, but do not touch the chalice.
	6^th Century	Women are forbidden to receive the bread on the naked hand.
	7^th Century	Bread is dipped in the wine so that the two kinds are administered together – “Intinction.” Wine is also taken through a reed.
	10^th Century	Only Clergy may receive the bread on the “naked hand.” This continues until about the 16^th century
	11^th Century	Communion is taken while kneeling.
	13^th Century	Bread only, no Wine in the West. Probably to avoid the risk of spilling. In the East, the bread is sprinkled with a few drops of wine and received from a spoon.
	Reformation	Bread and Wine, again.
	English Puritans who influenced the Congregationalists, Methodists and Presbyterians	Bread and Wine are brought to the sitting communicants.
	Some Presbyterians	Communicants leave their seats and sit around a table in the nave or sanctuary.
	Vatican II	Detailed instructions on how to receive become more flexible. Lay Eucharistic Ministers are instituted including both men and women.
	21^st Century	Variety