Intercommunion

Under Intercommunion is meant the common receive the Eucharistic ( " communion ") by members of different Christian denominations . If the celebration is led together by clergymen of different denominations ("concelebration"), one speaks of intercelebration . A careful distinction is made between the two levels, especially in the Catholic area.

Intercommunion in practice

Years of bilateral and multilateral negotiations have developed a number of different possibilities for intercommunion. In most cases, the prerequisite is that the participants are baptized Christians.

The "limited admission to the Lord's Supper"

Here members of other church communities are admitted to the Lord's Supper if there are personal or general emergency situations as well as special pastoral reasons. In most cases, it is up to the sacrament participant to decide whether there is an emergency.

The Roman Catholic Church knows a “limited admission” to communion without further ado with regard to the members of the Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches . In absolute exceptional cases , with the consent of the local bishop, it is only possible for Protestant Christians if all of the following points are met:

• Danger of death or other serious emergency according to the judgment of the bishop or the bishops' conference
• a donor from one's own ecclesiastical community cannot be reached
• the recipient asks for the sacraments (of penance, Eucharist, anointing of the sick)
• the recipient expresses faith in relation to these sacraments; d. H. true, real and essential presence of Jesus Christ under the forms of bread and wine ( real presence , transubstantiation ); Necessity that only a valid ordained priest can walk bread and wine in the body and blood of Christ, etc.
• the recipient is well disposed (supernatural belief in the effect of the sacraments, in the case of the Eucharist: freedom from serious sin; in the case of repentance: repentance). (can. 844 § 4 CIC )

The mutual admission to the Lord's Supper agreed by churches

Mutual admission to the Lord's Supper has been practiced by the Reformed Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary since the Abaúkjér (1830) and Nagygeresd (1833) agreements . The ecclesiastical unions of the 19th century also always contained the mutual admission to the Lord's Supper as an essential element.

The Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht and the Churches of the Anglican Ecclesiastical Fellowship declared in 1931 in the Bonn Intercommunion Agreement ( Bonn Agreement ) the “admission of members of the other to participate in the sacraments”.

In Germany, the Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics and the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) concluded an "Agreement on a mutual invitation to participate in the celebration of the Eucharist" in 1985. This was followed in 1988 by the Meißen joint statement between the EKD and the Church of England , which, along with mutual recognition as churches, also includes mutual invitations to the Lord's Supper (including limited forms of intercelebration).

"Eucharistic hospitality"

Since the 20th century, many Protestant and Anglican churches have practiced “Eucharistic hospitality” or “Eucharistic hospitality” (also “open communion”) and consider all baptized people from other denominations as invited. A corresponding recommendation was given by the Lambeth Conference as early as 1968 (Resolution 45) and, for example, anchored in its canon law in 1972 by the Church of England (Canon Law B15A). For the churches of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD), the Eucharistic hospitality was recorded in 1975 in a pastoral-theological handout and adopted by the Arnoldshain Conference , so that it now exists in all Protestant regional churches in Germany. The theological justification is that Christ himself invites to the Lord's Supper and the churches are therefore not entitled to exclude the baptized. For this reason there are no fundamental concerns for Protestant Christians, even in other denominations, e.g. B. in the Roman Catholic Church to receive the Lord's Supper (although it is recommended to only communicate "if it is certain that the ... the respective priest has no objections and that no offense is taken in the community" ). The Community of Evangelical Churches in Europe regards Eucharistic hospitality as a step towards overcoming the division between the churches.

Many free churches - including the Evangelical Free Churches - practice the so-called "half-open" Lord's Supper. In this context it is irrelevant whether the participants in the Lord's Supper are entitled to do so under canon law. The only important thing is whether they personally believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and are certain of the forgiveness of their guilt .

The intercelebration

→ Main article : Intercelebration

The intercelebration, i.e. H. the common celebration (“concelebration”) of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper by denominational officials at the same altar can be viewed as a further special case of intercommunion. In contrast to simple intercommunion, it usually presupposes an agreement on communion .

Reasons for the rejection of intercommunion between the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant churches

While the churches of Protestantism have developed a number of possibilities for interdenominational meal fellowship, the Roman Catholic attitude, like that of the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church ( SELK ), towards joint communion celebrations or the reception of the evangelical communion is still negative. For both of the latter churches this results from the different understandings of the Eucharist, for the Roman Catholic and the SELK above all from the differences in office ( priesthood , ordination , sacrament of consecration ).

• For the Roman Catholic Church, the communion dishes of bread and wine have become the body and blood of Jesus Christ through transubstantiation . Only a priest who has received the sacrament of ordination can effectively administer the Eucharist. In this respect, priests of the Eastern Churches are on an equal footing with Roman Catholics. According to the Roman Catholic view, evangelical ministers are not ordained by the ministerial sacrament , and consequently “the original and complete reality (substantia) of the Eucharistic mystery is not preserved in their churches” (2nd Vatican Council, Unitatis redintegratio (decree on ecumenism) 22) . “Catholic donors are only allowed to donate the sacraments to Catholic believers; Likewise, they are allowed to receive the sacraments only from Catholic donors "(can. 844 § 1 CIC )

• The Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church ( SELK ), believes, teaches and confesses that in Holy Communion it is real (really) Christ's true body (under the shape of bread) and Christ's true blood (under the shape of wine - grape juice is considered unbiblical rejected) for the forgiveness of sins with their mouths ( real presence ). Full communion fellowship cannot be declared with the Lutheran regional churches, since they have declared communion communion with churches of different denominations ( union churches and reformed churches). The SELK regards sacraments donated by pastors as invalid, as they have not received a mandate (power of attorney) from Christ. According to the Lutheran confessions, Roman Catholic masses contradict the will of Christ as a founder. Therefore, the Roman Catholic Church does not have a fully valid Lord's Supper.

Current controversies

An intercommunion service as part of the German ecumenical church convention in Berlin in 2003 led to the fact that the Bishop of Trier Reinhard Marx suspended the “ inter-celebrating ” Catholic pastor Gotthold Hasenhüttl , who had led a Eucharistic celebration together with Protestant clergy , from the priesthood. The Catholic pastor Bernhard Kroll ( Diocese of Eichstätt ), who had publicly and demonstratively received the Lord's Supper from an evangelical clergyman, was removed from his pastoral office by Bishop Walter Mixa , but was reinstated in another pastoral office in 2008.

During the requiem for Pope John Paul II , Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger gave communion to the well-known evangelical clergyman Brother Roger († 2005), which some observers perceived as a sensation. However, Brother Roger had received communion from Pope John Paul II for about 20 years. The necessary confession of his faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Brother Roger never left any doubts in word and writing and was therefore allowed to receive communion by his Catholic home bishop ( see above : Limited admission to the Lord's Supper).

literature

• Bernd Jochen Hilberath :  Intercommunion . In: Religion Past and Present (RGG). 4th edition. Volume 4, Mohr-Siebeck, Tübingen 2001, Sp. 195-197.
• Peter Krämer: Intercommunion and intercelebration: stumbling blocks or milestones for ecumenism? Roman Catholic Perspectives . In: Sabine Demel (Ed.): In the service of the community: Reality and future shape of church offices . Lit Verlag, Münster 2002, pp. 187-200.
• Joachim Track : Intercommunion and intercelebration: stumbling blocks or milestones for ecumenism? Evangelical Lutheran Perspectives . In: Sabine Demel (Ed.): In the service of the community: Reality and future shape of church offices . Lit Verlag, Münster 2002, pp. 201-216.
• Heike Ernsting: Strangers in the Sanctuary: Eucharistic Hospitality in Interfaith Dialogue . In: Mozaik. Ecumenical Journal of the WSCF Europe Region 14 (2004), pp. 32-34.
• Cláudio Carvalhaes: Eucharist and Globalization: Redrawing the Borders of Eucharistic Hospitality . Pickwick Publications 2013.

Web links

Wiktionary: Intercommunion  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mihaly Márkus (ed.): Három egyezmény. Three agreements. 1830-1833-1900 . Budapest 2006.
2. ↑ See The Lord's Supper. A guide to understanding and practicing the Lord's Supper in the Protestant Church . Presented by the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany. Gütersloh Verlagshaus, Gütersloh ⁵ 2008, p. 56.
3. ↑ See The Lord's Supper. A guide to understanding and practicing the Lord's Supper in the Protestant Church . Presented by the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh ⁵ 2008, p. 58 f.
4. ↑ On the Doctrine and Practice of the Lord's Supper (1995), B.6; C.5. In: Wilhelm Hüffmeier (Ed.): Sakramente, Amt, Ordination / Sacraments, Ministry, Ordination ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (= Leuenberg texts 2). Lembeck, Frankfurt am Main 1995.