 APPENDIX 4 - LAY ASSISTANTS FOR THE

DISTRIBUTION OF THE HOLY COMMUNION

See Section H2.1.
 INTRODUCTION
Canon B12 deals with the ministry of the Holy Communion. Paragraph 3 states – ‘no
person shall distribute the Holy Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper to the people unless
he/she shall have been ordained, or unless he has been specially authorised to do so by
the Bishop acting under such regulations as the General Synod may make from time to
time’.
The Regulations concerning this Canon were made by the Church Assembly in November
1969, and they state that:
1. An application should be made to the Bishop in writing by the Incumbent or Priest-in-
Charge and supported by the Churchwardens.
2.It shall be in the discretion of the Bishop to grant or refuse the application.
3. The Bishop may appoint a person for this purpose, being a Suffragan or Assistant
Bishop or Archdeacon of the Diocese.
 THE BISHOP’S REGULATION
1. Application forms, available from the Bishop’s office at Bishopsgrove, should be
returned to the relevant Archdeacon.
2. It is the Bishop’s desire that those authorised by him should be varied from time to time
and that after two periods of authorisation serious consideration will be given to making
changes.
3. Parishes are advised that Readers no longer require authorisation as Communion
Administrants and that ordinands and trainee lay-workers should be encouraged to share
in this ministry without applying for authorisation.
4. It is suggested that the Incumbent should consider persons of both sexes and of
different ages (though some maturity in the faith is desirable and a minimum age of 17 is
required). It is recommended that authorisations should not be sought for persons over
70 years of age.
5. It is expected that all applications will be overwhelmingly approved by the PCC and
supported by the Churchwardens.
6. The doctrinal, pastoral and personal implications of this ministry should at all times be
borne in mind; that is to say, the nature of the Holy Communion which is at the centre of
Christian worship, relationships with fellow-communicants and the personal
responsibilities and opportunities which are involved.
7. When administering the chalice, assistants, whether clergy or lay, should not give a
blessing to children or non-communicants. This should be done only by the minister who
distributes the Host. If this is someone other than a priest, then the blessing should be
given by placing a hand on the child’s head and using words in the form of a prayer - such
as ‘May the Lord bless you’.
8. Certain practical matters should be carefully noted:
(a) the methods of reception of the Sacrament which may, and often do, vary considerably
from parish to parish;
(b) whilst recognising that there may be established customs in parishes to be followed
when the consecrated elements prove insufficient, it should be noted that both the Book of
Common Prayer and the Alternative Service Book (paragraph 48 p.144/Holy Communion
A) provide specific instructions for this contingency;
(c) the need to give communion with such despatch as reverence and orderliness permit;
(d) the usual arrangements for reverently consuming any consecrated bread and wine
which is not required for the purposes of Communion, and for cleansing the Communion
vessels (which may be done by a lay person);
(e) the distribution of the Holy Communion by a lay person does not of itself require any
special dress or uniform to be worn;
(f) it is essential that an assistant should be well prepared and rehearsed by the
Incumbent before exercising this ministry, and that special care should be taken at
festivals and on other exceptional occasions when there are large numbers of
communicants.