Holy eucharist
The center of our worship is the Holy Eucharist. Other traditional names for this service are Holy Communion, the Mass, the Lord’s Supper, and the Divine Liturgy. It is the service specifically commanded by Jesus in the New Testament. The Eucharist joins our offering of worship to Christ’s offering of Himself upon the altar of the cross. As He promised (Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 6; I Corinthians 11), Jesus is truly sacramentally present under the forms of the consecrated bread and wine to infuse our lives with Himself and with the spiritual strength of His life.
By receiving Holy Communion, we give our Solemn Assent, our “Amen,” to the entire Anglican Eucharistic Service. We believe that the Eucharist is a spiritual sacrifice that must be administered by a bishop or a priest whose ministry derives in succession from the Apostles themselves. We also express our faith in Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist. Because of the seriousness of these affirmations, this Church does not presume to invite those who, in good faith, cannot yet accept these beliefs to compromise their conscience by receiving Holy Communion at our Altar. For these reasons, we are not an “open Communion” Church. Those who do so believe, have been confirmed by a Bishop in Apostolic Succession and who are spiritually prepared are welcome to receive Holy Communion.
Preparation for Holy Communion generally takes the form of private prayers. In many Anglican parishes, those physically able to do so refrain from eating ordinary food before morning Communion or for three hours before an evening Communion.