Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: mmh@cs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: open communion Message-ID: Date: 12 Feb 90 09:35:37 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Computer Science Dept, Queen Mary and Westfield College, U of London, UK. Lines: 20 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article mmh@cs.qmc.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes: >The meaning of communion in the Catholic churches (I believe >intercommunion is allowed between Orthodox and RC) is different >from the meaning of communion in Protestant churches. >[I think you're underestinating the meaning of communion to many >Protestants. I have it on good authority (someone who works for our >Presbytery, and previously taught in a Catholic seminary) that >Catholic and Presbyterian seminaries in the U.S. are now teaching >pretty much the same concepts. I agree, actually. But the real problem is there is such a range of views about communion on the Protestant side that it's best to play safe. I would have no problem about intercommunion with High Church Anglicans here, but I would with some of the Low Church ones. It would be far more offensive to start distinguishing between members of the same church than to stick to the simple rule of no intercommunion. Matthew Huntbach