Father K helpfully told me that C of E soldiers and sailors could go to an Eastern Orthodox priest if there was no C of E priest available (interesting!), but were there special dispensations for PoW camps if no priest were available, or did prisoners just have to go without Communion?
2007-03-30 21:03:33 · 11 answers · asked by Paul B 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
"Ask Mr.." rightly says (in C of E) the host can be administered by a non-priest under extraordinary circs - but were non-priests authorised (by C of E) to consecrate the host too, or was it (if it did happen in PoW camps) "communion by extension", does anyone know please?
And I honour those who were PoWs - please don't think my question was intended to ignore the terrible hardships many experienced. Thanks.
2007-03-30 22:33:12 · update #1
Some very strange answers! The strangest was that "only Protestant Britain stood against the Nazis"!! What an insult to my and others Catholic fathers, uncles, grandfathers fighting away for dear old Blightie! Shame on the person!
Another strange answer was that Communion is not necessary - Jesus tells the people "unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you will not have life in you" - sounds fairly straightforward to me.
I am an extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist at my local Roman Catholic Church, and whilst my normal duty is to offer the Sacred Blood to the Communicants, I would just as easily offer the Hosts if the Priest required assistance.
To the best of my knowledge (definitely in the RC and almost sure that our dear friends the Anglicans are no different) only a consecrated priest, in communion with a legitimate Bishop may preside at and celebrate the Sacred Mystery of the Eucharist.
I am sure that local priests would have taken it as a pastoral duty to offer the Eucharist on a regular basis to POW's in their area. Roman Catholics, although not permitted to accept the Eucharist from Anglicans, may receive the Sacrament from the Orthodox Church.
2007-03-31 01:04:26 · answer #1 · answered by Raymo 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just how many Eastern Orthodox 'priests' were there in PoW camps? :o)
There weren't too many Catholics in German PoW or concentration camps, because Italian Catholics fought with Hitler, and 'the pope' arranged for German Catholics to be left alone as long as they did not stir up trouble for the Nazis, which they didn't. French Catholics mostly went along with the German occupation, and Spanish Catholics kept out of it entirely. Only Protestant Britain stood against the Nazis. Evidently the dispensations of priests are not worth having anyway!
.
2007-03-30 22:00:17 · answer #2 · answered by miller 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Some of them had to go without living. My grandfather was a POW for 3 months (he and 3 others escaped). Funny, while I know he didn't have access to communion (or confession for that matter) of all the things he mentioned (beatings, torture, from no food to rancid food), a lack of communion was never something he focused on when he told me his stories. I guess he was too busy trying to not be dead to worry about communion.
2007-03-30 21:12:36 · answer #3 · answered by SDTerp 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The host may be administered under extraordinary conditions by other than a priest.
2007-03-30 21:10:50 · answer #4 · answered by Ask Mr. Religion 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Any Christian can administer Communion, they dont have to be trained, after all, the Apostles weren't.
Also, Communion isnt essential to salvation.
2007-04-01 06:23:03 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Paul, while I am no wheres near old enough to have been involved, let me put forward this idea for you. Communion is NOT a requirement of salvation. No where in the Bible is it ever mentioned that one has to take Communion, or to participate in the Last Supper to be saved, a Christian, in God's favor, or anything else. While we are encouraged to do so, until Jesus returns for the church, which is ALL believers, it is not a requirement. This is something that man dreamed up to be a control of the people, a bondage if you please, that Jesus never intended it to be.
2007-03-30 21:12:12 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
As far as I'm aware you don't have to be a priest to administer communion, the apostles hadn't been to priest college and they did it.
2007-03-30 21:09:56 · answer #7 · answered by warriorprincess 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You do not need a priest for communion. At least not according to the word of GOD. Any born again believer can partake of communion anytime that they feel like it.
~GOD BLESS YOU AND LEAD YOU INTO ALL TRUTH~
2007-03-30 21:10:21 · answer #8 · answered by wordman 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
They went without a lot more than communion. I am sure will have been really low on their list of priorities.
2007-03-30 21:10:59 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
they were far more worried about staying alive, religion didnt make much difference when you were starved and beaten. dad survived the battan death march and manchurian prision.
2007-03-30 21:08:35 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋