Tag Archives: polity
Frequency of the Lord’s Supper in 17th Century Britain
Posted on 13. Sep, 2009 by Rowland Ward.
We all know John Calvin (1509–1564) argued for frequent, even weekly communion, but had to settle for less because of his particular situation in Geneva. However, other Reformers did not always share his view. Heinrich Bullinger’s (1504–1575) Decades, which were very influential in England where they were prescribed for preachers, regard frequency as lacking specific direction in Scripture and thus being a matter of the discretion of each church.
John Knox’s (ca. 1505–1572) Liturgy of 1556, reflecting the practice of the congregation of English exiles in Geneva, includes a rubric, ‘The Lord’s Supper is commonly administered once a month, or so oft as the congregation shall think expedient.’ However, the First Book of Discipline of 1560, while recognising the sufficiency of the order of Geneva (II.2), added more specific instruction: ‘Four times a year we think sufficient for the administration of the Lord’s table, which we desire to be distincted [distinguished/specified], that the superstitions of times may be avoided as far as may be…’ (XI.5). Anxious to avoid the observance of the Supper at Easter, which many thought gave special virtue to it, the Book of Discipline specified the first Sunday in each of March, June, September and December. [This is what is common in most Australian Presbyterian churches to this day.] It added, ‘We do not deny but any several kirk for reasonable causes may change the time, and may minister more often, but we study to repress superstition.’
In 1562 the Scottish General Assembly ordained that the Communion be celebrated four times in the year within towns, and twice in the year in the country. Even so, with the shortage of ministers, frequency was often far less, even once a year, sometimes spread over several Sundays if the population was large.
The usage of the Independents of the 1640s of a weekly or monthly communion was one which did not impact in Scotland, and frequency in Scotland was commonly annual for a considerable period. [There was also the factor of cost. Wine, a good mouthful per person, was expensive for a poor country like Scotland given the congregation might number many hundreds.]
Practice in the Church of England could accommodate a greater frequency. The Prayer Book (1559) and Canons (1603) were for at least three times a year, but in practice few communicated more than once, and then at Easter. William Pemble (1591–1623) wrote: “…Satan hath done much by his malicious policy to corrupt men’s hearts in the observance of it: when the Sacrament was administered often he brought it into contempt by the commonness of it; now that it is administered seldom through ignorance, it is abused and neglected as unnecessary.”
Pemble lamented that if there had been no civil law requiring attendance at least once a year, the Lord’s Table would be left without guests. Communion practice declined with the ejection of non-conformists to the new order of 1662, as they were often the more committed people, and monthly communion was found among them.
In the Directory of the Westminster Assembly the term “frequently” has enough elasticity to allow for the quarterly or half yearly practice of the Scots, and the more frequent practice in (some) English Puritan circles. George Gillespie (1613–1648) records: “But the Committee went through in order; and first, objection was made against that first section, which leaves to the discretion of the pastor and elders of each congregation how oft the communion is to be celebrated. It was desired that they might be tied, at least, to four times a-year, since the Apostle and Christ speak of often celebration. I said, There is no ground from Scripture or otherwise to determine four times a year, for this should resolve in the arbitrement of men. If congregations abuse this liberty, the presbytery at visitation of churches can help it. Mr Newcomen declared that all the new gathered churches have the sacrament every Lord’s day in the afternoon. To avoid this debate of the time, it was added in the beginning, The Lord’s Supper is to be administered frequently.” [Notes of Proceedings of the Assembly, 102.]
In the recent Volume 3 of Ligon Duncan (ed.), Westminster Confession into the 21st Century (2009), Wayne Spear has two interesting articles that suggest the general mind of the Assembly was not quite along Calvin’s line where Cavin seems to suggest a Real Presence of a nature that means we get something extra that we do not have in the ordinary preaching. A more general Reformed view would be that we receive in the Supper what we receive in the ordinary ministry but in a different way that stoops to our weak capacity.
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Owen on Weekly Communion
Posted on 12. Sep, 2009 by Danny Hyde.
Just to follow up on Mark’s recent post concerning Thomas Goodwin’s teaching on weekly communion, Goodwin’s fellow Congregationalist, John Owen, also taught that the Lord’s Supper should be administered every Lord’s Day in his A Brief Instruction in the Worship of God and Discipline of the Churches of the New Testament (1667):
Q. 40. How often is that ordinance to be administered?
A. Every first day of the week, or at least as often as opportunity and conveniency may be obtained.—1 Cor. xi.26; Acts xx.7 (Works 15, 512).
What’s fascinating to me is that Owen did not cite Acts 2:42, contra Calvin, Goodwin, et al, as a proof-text for his position.
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Goodwin on Weekly Communion
Posted on 10. Sep, 2009 by Mark Jones.
The question of the Lord’s Supper interests me on a number of levels (e.g. pastoral, personal, theological, and Christological). The “Calvin versus the Calvinists” issue on the Lord’s Supper is admittedly complex. I’m not personally persuaded that the Westminster divines shared the same view of the Lord’s Supper as Calvin. That may surprise some, but there has been some diversity in the Reformed tradition on this question. But, one area where there is complete unanimity with Calvin and the Puritans is on the frequency of Communion. [...]
