Infant Communion - Protestant Denominations

Protestant Denominations

Many Mainline Protestants practice open communion, in which the bread and wine/juice is offered to the people without discrimination of age or denominational status. In these churches, while the very young often commune, it is unusual for infants to receive the Eucharist.

Denominations which practice closed communion generally deny the Eucharist to those not members of their congregation or denomination, regardless of age.

In churches where membership is often not permitted until the teenage years (for example, the Amish), infant communion is very rare.

In recent years, the Eastern practice of paedocommunion has gained considerable attention in the West, including among some conservative Protestants.

Notable conservative Protestants in favor of the practice are Curtis Crenshaw, Reggie Kidd, Peter Leithart, Jeffrey Meyers, Robert S. Rayburn, R. C. Sproul, Jr., Gregg Strawbridge, Ray Sutton, Douglas Wilson, Rousas John Rushdoony, James B. Jordan, Gary North, Steve Wilkins and N. T. Wright.

The Federation of Reformed Churches practices paedocommunion in all its churches as does the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. The Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Episcopal Church, a conservative Anglican denomination, also are tolerant of the practice, and many conservative Presbyterians favor paedocommunion as well. In the Presbyterian Church in America, doctrinal acceptance of paedocommunion is tolerated though the practice itself is not allowed.