The dispute in the Anglican Church of Australia over, “Who is permitted to preside over the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion)?” is still with us.<\/p>\n
In 2008 the Diocese of Sydney produced, The Lord\u2019s Supper in Human Hands<\/em>, arguing for the\u00a0administration of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion) by deacons and lay persons. It\u00a0has been thoroughly reviewed by the Revd Will Briggs, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The highest legal tribunal in the Anglican Church of Australia, the Appellate Tribunal, in 2010 decided, “No”, to\u00a0the legality of the administration of Holy Communion by deacons and lay persons. It’s decision\u00a0is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n I have just received a copy of the Diocese of Sydney’s 2010\u00a0response to the Appellate Tribunal decision. The Sydney response is entitled, The Lord\u2019s Supper in Human Hands: Epilogue<\/em> and is available to download free\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The ‘Epilogue<\/em>‘ has been well reviewed by Will Briggs, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Will’s concluding comment in his\u00a0review of the earlier (2008) Sydney book <\/a>resonates with me:<\/p>\n So do I support lay and diaconal administration?<\/p>\n As a fresh expression person my answer simply is \u2013 whatever makes us free-er to be the church we are trying to be. And so at this stage:<\/p>\n Yes \u2013 theologically I cannot see a biblical reason why administering Communion should be restricted to priests\/presbyters. I just want to gather around the Gospel proclaimed in Word and Sacrament and see lives transformed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n There are bigger issues\u00a0confronting Gospel proclamation and living in Australia and the world today. Please, let’s\u00a0focus on those – together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The dispute in the Anglican Church of Australia over, “Who is permitted to preside over the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion)?” is still with us. In 2008 the Diocese of Sydney produced, The Lord\u2019s Supper in Human Hands, … Continue reading
\nNo \u2013 politically and pragmatically \u2013 it\u2019s a secondary fight, not a primary fight. I don\u2019t want to get caught up in the politics of semantics.<\/p>\n