Open communion is the practice of Christian churches that allow individuals other than members of that church to receive Holy Communion (also called the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper). The phrasing and exact requirements in a particular local church may vary, but membership in a particular Christian community is not required.
Open communion is the opposite of closed communion, where the sacrament is reserved for members of the particular church or others with which it is in a relationship of full communion or fellowship, or has otherwise recognized for that purpose. Closed communion may refer to either a particular denomination or an individual congregation serving Communion only to its own members.
In the United Methodist Church, open communion is referred to as the Open Table.
Read more about Open Communion: Affirmation, Supporting Belief, Practitioners, Position of The Roman Catholic Church
Famous quotes containing the words open and/or communion:
“Who shall forbid a wise skepticism, seeing that there is no practical question on which any thing more than an approximate solution can be had? Is not marriage an open question, when it is alleged, from the beginning of the world, that such as are in the institution wish to get out, and such as are out wish to get in?”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“They eat, they drink, and in communion sweet
Quaff immortality and joy.”
—John Milton (1608–1674)