The following paper has been prepared to stimulate discussion at an online conference that is being held on Saturday 25 September 2021 on the subject of the Real Presence in relation to Online Eucharists.
These thoughts stem from many conversations with others – both those I agree with and those I don’t. I would particularly remember amongst these conversations, discussing these issues with Diana Butler Bass, Deanna A Thompson and Joshua Case in a similar online conversation last year and also with the Bishop of Argyll and The Isles, the Rt Rev Keith Riglin. I am particularly indebted to Bishop Keith for the idea of people consuming the elements at home as an kind of anamnesis of gathered Eucharists in church and also for the idea that what people do with the remaining elements as being an indication of what they believe about the Real Presence.
More details of the conference are available here: https://www.scotland.anglican.org/real-presence-sei-event-reflects-on-online-eucharists/. The other participants include Eleanor Charman, Alasdair Coles and Stephen Holmes, each of whom has written a paper to stimulate the discussion.
Christianity is an endlessly mutating theological virus. It is passed on from person to person, from group to group, from age to age. The symptoms of the Christianity Virus can be perceived either positively or negatively by the host organism which it may inhabit at any one time. On the one hand, the Virus may be recognised by the conspicuous presence of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self-control. Conversely, symptoms of dogmatism, hatred, anger, self-righteous indignation and certainty may present themselves. Confusingly, both positive and negative symptoms may be found to be present within the same individual or group.
No vaccine has ever been found that completely suppresses the Christianity Virus. The consequence of its ability to mutate has ensured a lasting presence within the host population. Many mutations of the Christianity Virus have developed without the host population being aware of the nature of the changes in the Virus. However, at times of great change, more significant mutations emerge which are often accompanied by years of frenzied debate which sometimes spills into violence.
One of the most intriguing characteristics of the Christianity Virus is that although the host population seems to group itself in ways which seem to reflect different mutations of the Virus, these groups (whether churches or theological movements in more general terms) do not map completely, exclusively or neatly onto groups or individuals who are infected by individual mutations.
This paper will consider several issues arising out of the March-2020-Online-Worship Mutation of the Christianity Virus which appeared suddenly and unexpectedly all over the world around 16 March 2020. Within weeks, this variation of the Christianity Virus was widespread and pervasive.
The particular question which presents itself at this time is whether the Real Presence Spike Characteristic that has been observed in previous mutations of the Virus is present in the current mutation and whether that presence, if it exists, should be welcomed as life-enhancing or be suppressed.
The emergence of online worship within the worldwide church was surprising and extraordinary. Clergy and lay leaders of the church were suddenly unable to gather in physical spaces. Simultaneously many were also experiencing personal lockdown situations for the first time. Christians found their usual activities restricted in ways which might have been unimaginable only days previously.
Online worship developed in a time of chaos. It is not surprising therefore that many different forms of online worship emerged. Several distinctive forms of online worship appeared which might have a bearing on whether the doctrine of the Real Presence can be said to have any connection with the actions of the church online. Two distinctions in particular are worth considering in the context of a discussion of the theology of the Real Presence. Firstly, the question of asynchronous forms of online worship (typically pre-recorded communion services) in which those participating watch at different times, as opposed to synchronous forms of worship (typically a livestreamed/Zoom service) in which those participating all watch at the time as the action is taking place. Secondly, the question of whether those participating in online worship should make a ‘spiritual communion’ by praying a prayer at the point in the service where bread and wine would normally be consumed as opposed to services in which people are encouraged to have their own bread and wine and consume it at that point at home. These categories are, of course, porous. It is possible for a livestreamed communion to be posted online and become a pre-recorded service, and it is possible for a service to have participation both from those who find a prayer of spiritual communion satisfying and complete and those who would wish to eat the bread and drink the wine for themselves. Some people might even receive bread and wine at home when they had been explicitly told not to do so.
Interesting questions relating to the Real Presence arise from each of these variations of online worship.
There are undoubtedly some Christians who struggle with the idea of a pre-recorded Eucharist which is being watched by participants at different times. This reservation seems curious in a church in which receiving communion from the reserved sacrament was so common prior to the pandemic. Notwithstanding this, an objection is commonly put that it cannot really be communion as the church has previously understood it, if the congregation are not joined together in either space or time.
However, the church has always sat rather lightly to the space–time continuum. Before the pandemic how many Eucharists were being celebrated on a Sunday? Was it one Eucharist per church, or was each celebration merely part of one cosmic celebration presided over by Christ the great high priest? And where were the participants for those services? Were they really scattered and separated across Scotland or were they conceptually gathered together somewhere else — an upper room in Jerusalem or perhaps the banqueting table of heaven where all are welcomed, and none are denied? A great many Maundy Thursday sermons have been devoted to convincing congregations that when they gather at the table, they are not in fact gathered in St Agatha’s, Auchtertochty, as may seem to them to be the case, but are in fact meeting with Christ and his disciples in a borrowed room.
Livestreaming a Eucharist does not necessarily resolve matters either. Are online participants who are watching online at home actually part of the congregation, or are they observers of the congregation? Most such celebrations seem to involve simply placing a camera at the back of a church to observe a celebrant who consistently addresses only those in the room. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of online worship to develop was the practice of some Christians of preparing bread and wine to be consumed at home whilst participating in an online offering of worship. This development happened quickly and did not pass without notice.
The College of Bishops made an attempt to suppress this practice within days of online worship beginning at the start of the pandemic. Their statement of 27 March 2020 very clearly indicates disapproval of bread and wine being consumed at home, offering prayers of spiritual communion instead.
It is perhaps worth noting that no purer example of ‘virtual communion’ could be found than the practice of praying a prayer of spiritual communion. For some people this seems to have been a satisfactory thing to do whilst for others it has offered nothing.
The 27 March 2020 statement was an unusually heavy-handed attempt by the College of Bishops to regulate the spirituality of lay Christians worshipping at home. Although some individual bishops attempted to present the advice subsequently as merely guidance, it was received by some as a “Thou Shalt Not…” form of commandment, from on high.
How much more fruitful it might have been if the College had instead provided rubrics for those sharing bread and wine at home. For example, prepare the bread and the wine before the service; ensure you have time to participate in the service fully and without distractions; light a candle or do something else that will help you to remember you are in a sacred space; if it is your practice to make the sign of the cross when you are at worship at the absolution, epiclesis etc., then continue to do so whilst participating in an online service; pray aloud with those who are praying in the service; and consume any bread and wine that has not been eating during the service immediately after the service is finished.
The different beliefs of Christians in connection with the doctrine of the Real Presence can sometimes be seen more clearly in what they say needs to happen to bread and wine that has not been consumed during the service than in the words said over the elements during worship at the table. Is such bread and wine to be discarded, put back in the packet or bottle, ‘reverently disposed of’, returned to the elements, or consumed? Each answer to this question gives indications of the theological presumptions behind it.
Some in our church, including this author, believe that it can be appropriate for bread and wine to be consumed at home as part of an online service of worship. Furthermore, there are those of us, including this author, who believe that if God is capable of transfiguring/transubstantiating/ transforming the bread and wine that end up in people’s hands in church, then God is more than clever enough to manage to do this with the bread and wine that end up in people’s hands at home.
Words have never been capable of capturing what the doctrine of the Real Presence actually means. They skirt about it. They are, by their very nature, inadequate to the task.
It is God who makes the Real Presence real.
With regards to all our worship, whether online or in person, it is surely God who provides the sacrament. The church is the provider of the rubrics.
There may also be theological positions which lean towards recognising the Real Presence in this way but do not fully articulate it. What would it have meant if the College of Bishops had asked those people who were consuming bread and wine during an online service to remember the Eucharists that they formerly experienced in their churches whilst they were doing so? We have anamnesis as a central concept in the Scottish Liturgy 1982. Might that idea of present remembrance have been more dignified than simply forbidding a practice that was, at the very least, bringing grace to some who were, in the first days of lockdown, isolated, lonely and distressed?
Online worship, of course, is not only related to lockdown. It has opened the life of the church to some who find buildings difficult. The voices of able-bodied bishops have been promoted loudly by the Scottish Episcopal Church in relation to this question; the voices of those who are disabled by physical buildings, much less so.
If it is possible for the church to gather online, then a catholic sensibility would suggest that the sacraments must necessarily be present. Without the sacraments, it is not the church at all. As ever, we may be physically able to see outward signs, but we are physically unable to see inward grace.
The eucharist has famously been celebrated in an abundance of settings — for prince and pauper, in times of war and in times of peace etc. Is it not inconceivable that God would withhold a blessing from those participating in the supper of the Lamb as devoutly, faithfully, and as reverently as they are able to manage, in any circumstance, including the first days of lockdown?
There is only One Table, One Celebrant, One Lord, One Church and One Sacrament, after all.
It remains too early to tell how the mutations of the Christianity Virus of 2020 will affect its host organisms in the long term.
Pandemics result in changes in human behaviour. Whilst seen as almost exclusively negative at a pandemic’s peak, a pandemic may also lead to extraordinary developments, previously unseen and unimagined. Without the scientific understanding of cholera, human beings would not have developed modern sewerage systems. Without the black death, serfdom might never have been overcome in parts of the world where it has ceased. Human misery has so often been the crucible for great art.
It is not unreasonable to suppose that positive and novel theological developments might occur within the Christian faith as a result of the current pandemic. It is not unreasonable for religious people to presume that even in the midst of a pandemic, God is still at work and will continue to make all things new. Indeed, for those who are infected by any mutation of the Christianity Virus, that conception of the divine work is not merely an option or opinion. All that Christians have ever taught would indicate that God is fully present in the world during a pandemic and that the sacramental life of the church will never be extinguished by circumstance.
37 responses to “Keeping the faith”
It was an inspiring recitation. Following the English translation in the service sheet provided added insight to the life of Mary. All the more so as the cathedral is dedicated to St Mary. You are reminded of Mary every time you walk into the building with the Gwyneth Leech mural over the High Altar.
Kelvin is quite right. The very self-righteous defenders of the Bible (including the ones who trolled a brave young Muslim woman, for days, with the most vile language, and those who did not reprimand them) totally ignored the Biblical instructions for raising concerns with a brother in faith (Matthew 18:15; 2 Tim 23). Very practical instruction too! As anyone who has ever lived in community can verify. Could all these obsessive men *please* stop trying to divide our communities in Glasgow. We will not be divided. At the first sign of trouble we rush out to embrace one another. These abusers have much to repent of, even if *just* standing by while others throw stones.
I HATE it when the wrong tune is picked for a hymn … it is simply an abomination before God.
However, helping people to think about how we share hospitality, welcome and learn from each other is the WAY of God! Blessings on you Kelvin.
Some reasons why this time was different:
1. The other quaran recitations you mentioned happened at Nine Lessons and Carols, or special ecuminical and interfaith events. While 9L&C was originally a modified Evensong, nowadays it’s usually considered a seasonal community musical recitial with a religious tinge, so having a Muslim from the community recite something from their faith would seem natural enough. Civic and interfaith services will likewise naturally include representatives of every faith in the community. By contrast the Eucharist is the central act of Christian worship and people expect to hear ONLY Christian doctrine proclaimed in the Holy Eucharist. In other words, this was the wrong venue for showing hospitality to Muslim neighbors. You did not intend to practice syncretism, but I think the outcome was syncretic despite your good intentions.
2. Post Brexit (and post Trump) British Muslims are now seen as alien invaders rather than fellow members of the community.
3. Because hostility to Muslims is now fashionable, the Express and rest of the gutter press decided that this was a story worth reporting. Since conservative Americans often read the online editions of the British gutter press, the story then went global.
4. Because you are gay and out, your every action is scrutinized for any possible hint of heresy by GAFCON and Co.
Of all these reasons, only reason #1 is a legitimate criticism, but I hope you do think about criticism #1 as well as defending yourself from other, illegitimate criticisms.
Thank you for your comment Whit J – all the more because it is a thoughtful criticism.
I’ve plenty to reflect on about the how and the when we do things like that and I do hear loudly and clearly that many people think this was an inappropriate context. Though of course, I’d be bound to say that some are saying that the Eucharist is precisely the place indeed there are some saying that is what it is for.
I’m not going to get into a back and forth with all the comments on this post and I’m deliberately not letting through things that have already been said but be assured that I’ve heard the criticism and will reflect on it not simply now but over coming months. (I’ve learned a lot about where God is this week that will take a long time to process). I’m grateful for the way you’ve made your point.
I think there is a good deal in what Whit J says, although I am not sure the effect actually was syncretic. I think one does perhaps have to be a regular worshipper at St Mary’s to understand how totally orthodox the worship there is, and how much Jesus is the focus of worship – how utterly unlikely it is that anyone there would make the mistake of thinking he was not revered by the congregation as a whole as very God from very God. It would be impossible for them not to realise that all the clergy there rejoice in this belief. The congregation saw the words of the Qu’ran in an English translation which portrayed that book’s far-from-easy-to-follow account of Islam’s view of the conception of Jesus, in which there was nothing offensive, and heard a very beautiful voice singing in a strange and glorious language. These were clearly indicated to be the beliefs of another faith. We certainly neither saw or heard or understood any insult to the person of Christ. I am sure none was intended, either. Whereas, and this bears repeating, I am totally sure that many of those commenting (not of course by any means all of them, and nobody whose comments are published here) simply wish harm to relationships between the great faiths in Glasgow.
I have spent my whole adult life in dialogue with people of other religious traditions, it has been deeply rewarding. However I feel that what happened at this service was profoundly wrong. When we are truly ourselves we allow other people to be profoundly themselves. The truth of Christianity is not compatible with any other religion. To avoid that incompatibility is to avoid reality. Worship of Jesus is the fountain of our faith the Qu’ran is opposed to that. I love Jesus and therefore cannot conceive of reading the Qu’ran in an act of worship – no problem doing so in other contexts but not in worship. I am profoundly disturbed that you cannot see this Kelvin.
There are so many things aren’t there, not just around this issue which we hold dear in faith and which we can’t see from another perspective?
I can hear and see that people are upset by this and clearly there are many people not upset by it too. And obviously, at least I hope obviously, I love Jesus too.
The trouble with religious questions and the questions that religious people have I think is that so often that our love for our faith can make it impossible to comprehend others who also claim to love the same faith but who take different views about things. We can hear them claim that love but be intellectually unable to process it because it leads them to different conclusions.
I’ve found the same thing to be true in the sexuality debates very frequently though I perceive that to be changing sometimes now. Similarly with other identity issues and some political issues. Israel/Palestine conversations for example often seem to be conducted (when they are conducted at all) by people who seem to behave like ships passing in the night.
I happen to have views about Church Schools which are pretty intransigent and negative. You are one of the few people, no the only person, who ever made me really think there might be a point of view about them other than mine which might have an integrity I could respect. And I’m very grateful for that.
Kelvin, thank you for your reply. I have enormous respect for you. I have no doubt that church schools can be argued against from perfectly respectable positions. Worship of Jesus is simply a different order, it cannot include a reading from the Qu’ran. Worship is one thing, study, dialogue, relationship something else.
I am really grateful to Richard for the phrase “When we are truly ourselves we allow other people to be profoundly themselves” which reflects my experience of interfacing with sincere people of other faiths. Is a Christian Eucharist a place this should happen? I can understand some Christians feeling it is not, but as long as everything was clearly labelled as what it was and the integrity of the liturgy was intact, I can also understand some feeling it is.
Brother Kelvin,
Although I do not agree with allowing the Koran to be read in our Christian churches, I truly appreciated your firm and resolute stand for the deity of Jesus. He is our great God and Savior and I love Him very much. Blessings from Tennessee.
Just as a perhaps amusing point of reference, the 1982 hymnal of the Episcopal church in the USA has “Brightest and best of the STARS” (caps mine) “of the morning,” apparently so as to avoid offending any daughters who might be present, and the two tunes included are “Morning Star” by James Proctor Harding (1850-1911) and “Star in the East” from The Southern Harmony (1835). The Harding tune was also in the 1940 Hymnal, wherein the word “sons” was still used.
I am not clear as to whether the hospitality at St Mary’s anticipates infinite extension of parallel lines between Islam and the Church in Glasgow. Are you planning some opportunities for Glasgow Muslims to understand the Christian faith and prepare for Baptism and the glorious liberty of regeneration by the Holy Spirit? (In whichever order; no axe about that!) As you move around the Glasgow community and meet more Christians of Islamic background, why not invite such to participate in groups for new Muslim enquirers? The testimony of an ex-Muslim can express vibrantly “How I know He lives” (as your SA brethren would sing). You might find not only new hearts from a divine work of grace among your Muslim neighbours but in other neighbours too. Amen. Inshallah!
There are a small number of people in St Mary’s who are converts from Islam to Christianity just as there are a small number of people in local mosques who are converts from Christianity to Islam.
St Mary’s regularly puts on events and courses for people discovering and exploring Christianity. Most living religions do the same thing.