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    Published: 2021-07-07
    Vol. 57 No. 1 (2021)

    Contentions in the Church in Poland around the ways of receiving Holy Communion in times of pandemics in a historical and theological perspective

    Waldemar Bartocha
    Liturgia Sacra. Liturgia - Musica - Ars
    Section: Liturgia
    DOI https://doi.org/10.25167/ls.4099

    Abstract

    The experience of the time of the pandemic in the Church in Poland has led to the intensification of disputes about the ways of receiving Holy Communion. Various circles, especially traditionalists, began to promote inappropriate theological arguments aimed not only at undermining the legitimacy of Communion in the hand, but also the possibility of a contagion of viruses through the Eucharist. The purpose of this article is to show the genesis of these contentions and the reaction of the Polish Episcopal Conference and individual bishops to the actions taken by certain groups of people or individuals spreading erroneous theological views, especially in the social media.  After presenting the essence of the disputes in the first part of the study and after separating the areas to which the most frequent errors can be reduced, the following parts of the article will present both historical and theological arguments regarding the issue of distributing Holy Communion in the hand.  A broad look at the issue, which at the present time seems to be a crucial problem, will make it possible to prove the truth of the thesis stated in the introduction to the article. It is a mistake to try to oppose the two forms of receiving Holy Communion – “on the tongue” or “in the hand” to each other. The emphasis in the mystagogical and catechetical activities of the Church should be placed on what belongs to the essence, that is, on the worthy reception of the Blessed Sacrament, and not on absolutizing the form of the rite itself. Disputes in the Church in Poland concerning the ways of receiving Holy Communion in the time of the pandemic have exposed weaknesses in the life of the Church and irregularities which have developed over the years, as well as serious deficiencies in the formation of both clergy, consecrated persons and lay faithful. Hence they demand a constructive response from the Church at the level of her pastoral activity.

     

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    Bartocha, W. (2021). Contentions in the Church in Poland around the ways of receiving Holy Communion in times of pandemics in a historical and theological perspective. Liturgia Sacra. Liturgia - Musica - Ars, 57(1), 7–31. https://doi.org/10.25167/ls.4099

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