Episcopal theologians release statement expressing concern about open Communion

Read the release here.

My only take on this is to refer to Article XXVIII of the 39 Articles:

Emphasis mine. There is a reason we do not "sacrifice" Jesus upon an "altar" as the Roman Catholic church does. Our Lord's sacrifice on the Cross was once for all. The Lord's Supper is taken in remembrance of him according to his command (Luke 22:19).

 

Regarding communion for the unbaptised, we need to remember the injunction "the gifts of God for the people of God". An unbaptised person is not yet fully reborn into Christ according to Anglican doctrine (see Article XXVII of the 39 Articles). Our salvation is by faith alone, but our entry into the church, the bride of Christ, is effected by Baptism by water as a sign of our rebirth. When Jesus was baptised, the Holy Spirit descended upon him (Matt. 3:16); so many in the church believe the same happens to us when we are baptised. The Holy Spirit indwells us as we are reborn and works within us rather than on us from outside.

 

The document in the link says in part, According to The Book of Common Prayer (1979), the Eucharist is not only a holy “meal”
served from a “table,” it is also a sacramental “sacrifice” offered on an “altar.” I think maybe the problem for the writer of this statement is the poor-quality BCP they have in TEC. Calling it an "altar of sacrifice" does evoke Romanist images. That said, even in the 2019 there are places referring to the "altar" (and sometimes "altar table"), and we do offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving during the Eucharist (but it's not on the table).

 

Altar and sacrifice are perfectly fine terms, it’s just the way the Romans mix and match them that brings grave issues into theology. We have a very strong tradition of Eucharistic sacrifice in the 1662 BCP, with a Prayer of Oblation that’s almost a page long; it’s just not the Roman understanding of Eucharistic sacrifice. These theologians don’t explain how precisely their altar + sacrifice necessitates Baptism in communion. They think it’s obvious, probably from all the Roman theology textbooks they read. It seems evident what pool of water these theologians are drinking from. Sad; the last good guys in the Episcopal Church.

 

Saying no to Communion without baptism (CWOB) seems to be the line in the sand, relatively conservative, for the Catholic Anglicans remaining in the Episcopal Church and some others there, having accepted women clergy and LGBT.