We are returning to the Common Cup
Find below the explaination of why we are returning to the Common Cup.
Receiving from the Common Cup
A joyful return to an ancient and shared Anglican practice
In the coming weeks, following the guidance of our Bishop, we will be returning to the Anglican and historic Christian practice of sharing the Common Cup in Holy Communion. This is not a step backward, but a step deeper into the richness of our tradition — a sign of unity, trust, and shared life in Christ.
This change invites us to rediscover something beautiful about what Communion is and what it means to be the Church together.
The theology: One cup, one body
At the Last Supper, Jesus did not give individual cups. He took a cup, blessed it, and shared it:
“Drink from it, all of you…” (Matthew 26:27)
From the beginning, the Church understood the shared cup as a visible sign of a deeper spiritual truth: we are made one in Christ. St Paul writes:
“Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” (1 Corinthians 10:17)
The same is true of the cup. The shared chalice proclaims that Communion is not a private act between “me and God,” but a communal act in which Christ gathers us into one body. We receive not as isolated individuals, but as members of a living community shaped by grace.
The Common Cup is therefore not just a practical detail — it is a theological sign. It expresses trust in God, trust in one another, and our belonging to the Body of Christ.
The history: The universal practice of the Church
For nearly two thousand years, Christians across the world shared the chalice. The Common Cup is not a recent custom but the ordinary and universal practice of the historic Church — East and West, Anglican and Catholic, ancient and modern.
The Anglican tradition has always valued receiving Communion in both kinds (bread and wine), seeing it as faithful to Christ’s command and the witness of the early Church. Our liturgy preserves this inheritance. When we return to the Common Cup, we are reconnecting with the long story of Christian worship that stretches across centuries and continents.
We are joining a practice that has sustained generations of believers through plagues, wars, and social upheaval — a reminder that the Church’s life is rooted not in fear, but in hope.
The shared practice: A sign of trust and community
To drink from a shared cup is a counter-cultural act. In a world shaped by individualism and anxiety about contamination, the Common Cup gently proclaims another story: that we belong to one another in Christ.
This is not reckless disregard for health; it is a sign that Communion is an act of shared life. We approach the altar not as strangers but as family. The chalice becomes a symbol of hospitality, reconciliation, and mutual care.
Those who prefer not to receive from the cup may continue to receive the bread alone. Anglican teaching has always affirmed that Christ is fully present in either element. No one is excluded, and no one is pressured. The return to the Common Cup is an invitation, not a demand.
Receiving Communion in One Kind: fully receiving Christ
It is important to say clearly: no one is required to receive from the cup in order to receive Holy Communion fully.
In Anglican teaching, Christ is wholly present in both the bread and the wine. To receive the consecrated bread alone is to receive the fullness of the sacrament. This practice — sometimes called receiving in one kind — has long been recognised by the Church as a faithful and complete participation in Communion.
Some may choose not to drink from the chalice for reasons of health, conscience, or personal comfort. That choice is respected without question. There is no sense in which a person receives “less” grace or is only partially communicated. The gift of Christ is not divided.
The return to the Common Cup is therefore not about creating pressure or testing faith. It is about restoring a shared sign for those who wish to receive it, while continuing to honour the pastoral wisdom that the sacrament is complete in either element.
At the communion line, you are free to receive the bread alone and return to your place in peace, knowing that you have fully shared in the body and blood of Christ.
The science: A practice shown to be hygienic
It is understandable that some may feel cautious. However, extensive research over many decades has consistently shown that the Common Cup, when used in the traditional way, presents an extremely low risk of disease transmission.
Key factors include:
The antimicrobial properties of silver chalices
The alcohol content of sacramental wine
The wiping and rotation of the rim between communicants
The very brief contact time
Medical studies have repeatedly concluded that the risk is negligible and comparable to many everyday social interactions. Even during periods of heightened public health awareness, experts have recognized that the Common Cup, properly administered, is not a significant source of infection.
The Church has shared the chalice safely for centuries, including through times when medical knowledge and sanitation were far less advanced than today.
A gift to receive with confidence
Returning to the Common Cup is an opportunity to renew our understanding of Communion as a gift of unity. It invites us to step into the stream of Christian history, to embody trust in one another, and to celebrate the sacrament in its fullness.
This is not about nostalgia. It is about living faithfully in continuity with the Church we have inherited, guided by our Bishop, and rooted in the grace of Christ who gathers us at one table.
As we receive from the shared cup, we proclaim together:
We are one body, because we all share in one bread and one cup.
And in that sharing, Christ meets us.
