As we begin the process of planning for the re-opening of our churches for public worship, the guiding principles for discerning how to celebrate the sacred mysteries should be safety, reverence, and authority. Safety, will our celebrations introduce unnecessary risk for the spread of COVID-19? Reverence, will our celebrations maintain its theological and ascetical integrity? Authority, are our celebrations, and its pandemic alterations, faithful to historic practice?
As a trinity of sorts, safety must not ignore reverence and authority must not ignore safety. They are equal in that they share the same goal: the objective adoration of the Triune God and a sacramental encounter with Jesus Christ. They are not equal in that they operate towards this goal in different ways. For instance, an unsafe celebration of the Holy Eucharist is not a reverent one. And an antiseptic celebration may not be a valid one.
For the sake of clarity, let me briefly define the terms as I understand and use them.
Safety
Nothing is completely safe. Everything comes with risk. As we like to quote C.S. Lewis, even God is unsafe. By safety, I mean sensible actions that prevent the spread of COVID-19, actions guided by active medical professions. Safety should promote confidence and not anxiety.
Reverence
Reverence is not only recognition of risk; it is respect for it. Reverence is the opposite of presumption and casual informality. The Holy Eucharist is an encounter with Jesus Christ. It is to feel the heat of the Burning Bush. It demands attention and deliberate action.
Authority
How has the Church navigated between the practical and the prayerful? If we do not appeal to some authority, then we are making it up. What has been the practice of the Church? What do the prayers say? The rubrics? Even if the authority isn’t from our specific jurisdiction, it is nearly always better than our own new idea. The authority of the Church will also address what is practical. If it’s been done in Italy, England, and Mexico, chances are it will work just fine in North Carolina.
How does this work in practice? Two of the main liturgical questions are how shall we pass the peace and how shall we administer and receive Holy Communion in a way that does not put our people at unnecessary risk for the spread of COVID-19. Regarding the Peace, there are safe ways, but wholly unsatisfactory. The Peace is a sign of Christian reconciliation with one another before we are reconciled to Jesus Christ in the reception of Holy Communion. To be fair, our non-pandemic practice rarely speaks to this intended purpose, but we should not retreat further into liturgical and theological incoherence just because we can’t shake hands or bump fists, much less hug and kiss (the traditional way). There is a safe way, but it is not terribly reverent nor is it supported by authority.
There is, however, another way to observe the peace. The most ancient position for the Peace is before the Offertory, where it is now. It makes sense. We have prayed for Holy Spirit to open our hearts, we’ve heard from Holy Scripture, the sermon, we confessed our faith and our sins. Before we bring our gift to the altar, we now seek reconciliation with our brother. Done with intention, it is a beautiful thing. The Peace before the Offertory is not the only traditional place where it may be observed. The medieval practice, included in the 1549 Book of Common Prayer and in the rubrics of the 1979 Prayer Book, was to exchange the peace after the Fraction. In the Tridentine Mass, after the breaking of the Sacred Host, the priest greets the people with the words of the Resurrected Lord (“Peace be with you”). The Agnus Dei then follows, ending of course with, “Grant us thy peace,” and then the priest quietly prays, “O Lord Jesus Christ, who saidst to Thine Apostles: “Peace I leave with you, my own peace I give to you.” Regard not our sins but the faith of Thy Church, and grant her peace and unity according to Thy will, who livest and reignest…”
The 1979 Book of Common Prayer says in the Additional Directions on page 407: “The greeting, “The peace of the Lord be always with you,” is addressed to the entire assembly. In the exchange between individuals which may follow (emphasis mine), any appropriate words of greeting may be used. If preferred, the exchange of the Peace may take place at the time of the administration of the Sacrament (before or after the sentence of Invitation).”
Authority gives us both the permission and precedent for moving the Peace just before Holy Communion. Authority also gives permission and precedent for not greeting one another. This position may very well preserve Reverence in a more satisfactory way, until we can remove the masks and distance. In this position, we can focus on the Peace of Christ that has been given to us in this Sacrament and pray for His grace to see us through this strange season. Since there is no moving toward one another, or physical touching, it is sensibly safe.
What about Holy Communion? This one seems a bit tricky. Let’s start with Reverence. The celebrant wearing gloves during the Eucharistic Prayer and Holy Communion is problematic. As one friend pointed out, how does one do the ablutions whilst wearing gloves (do we burn latex)? Furthermore, how will the people receive Holy Communion? The two main concerns seem to be the priest’s contact with the Hosts (what all has the priest touched before touching the Host?) and a safe environment to consume the Host (how can you remove your mask without breathing on everyone?).
Again, I think there is Authority that has been formed by practice and precedence. I can think of two options in safely administering the Host from traditional practice. The first is to give Holy Communion from the Reserved Sacrament. There is some debate about the transmission of COVID from surfaces, but communion from the Tabernacle satisfies the most conservative approaches. If one is worried about how long the virus might be on surfaces, the ciborium can repose in the Tabernacle for days before administration. The priest must consume the Precious Body and Blood at the mass, but there is no reason why the people cannot receive communion from the Tabernacle. If your scruples doubt the permission of the Prayer Book to do so (even though it is a long-standing Anglican and Roman practice), the priest could still place the ciborium on the corporal and not touch the Hosts (they could have been prepared days in advance). There is no need to seek unnecessarily creative ideas for Communion.
In addition, there is precedent for administering the Sacrament with pincers, essentially tongs. There is an example of Eucharistic pincers in the Terra Sancta museum in Jerusalem and many examples of in pincers in medieval paintings. The priest need not to put on gloves and can safely administer the Host to the communicant, thereby preserving sensible Safety measures, Reverence, and follow an established Authority.
This addresses the priest’s handling of the Hosts, but what about the removal of masks by the people? Roman practice has long allowed the administration of Holy Communion after the mass has ended. It was also a traditional Anglo-Catholic practice to give Holy Communion after Solemn Masses. It would make the most sense for the priest to say mass straight through as usual, including the priest’s communion, and then administer the Host to those who are prepared and desirous, after the mass has ended. The people can take their time and they can come to a designated place, one at a time, to receive the Host and then remove their mask. Even if the priest chooses to take the Sacrament outside, it will be after the mass has ended and will be far more orderly and reverent.
Safety, Reverence, and Authority are held together in tension, but not competition. We can, and should, strive for the highest degree of all three.