# Infant/ Paedo-Communion



## Sviata Nich (Feb 20, 2012)

If I am not mistaken, infant communion is having small children and infants participate in the Lord's supper, even without a profession of faith, so long as they've been baptized. Is this a proper understanding of the practice? What is the history behind it?

Is this practiced in your church? 

What do the confessions say about it?


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## jwright82 (Feb 20, 2012)

Here is a good discussion and critique of it, Paedocommunion - Reformed Forum.

You are correct it seems in your description of it. It is anti-confessional. I think the main problem with it is a misunderstanding of the covenant. The internal/external aspect of the covenant is ignored or flatlined at least.


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## Pilgrim (Feb 20, 2012)

Sviata Nich said:


> If I am not mistaken, infant communion is having small children and infants participate in the Lord's supper, even without a profession of faith, so long as they've been baptized. Is this a proper understanding of the practice? What is the history behind it?



Yes to the first question. With regard to the second, the practice was widespread in Christendom until the High Middle Ages, roughly speaking. (If I recall correctly this roughly coincided with the Roman Catholics beginning to withhold the cup from the laity for similar reasons.) 

The Eastern Orthodox bodies continue to practice paedocommunion to this day. Many sources assert that the practice was well nigh universal in the Western church as well until the Romanists abandoned it. But Rev. Matthew Winzer wrote an article a few years ago in which he argued that the practice was not universal. 



Sviata Nich said:


> Is this practiced in your church?



No, but of course I'm a Baptist. 

I doubt it's practiced in any of the member's churches, at least not the regular posters. In "Reformed" circles (speaking very broadly to include nonconfessional churches that nonetheless fly the Reformed banner) this practice is largely confined to those organizations that embrace Federal Vision theology. That theology has been rejected by every major confessional Reformed denomination in North America. (And probably many elsewhere as well.) As noted in the board rules, advocacy of Federal Vision theology (FV) is forbidden on the Puritan Board. 



Sviata Nich said:


> What do the confessions say about it?



The practice is precluded by the confessions and by Scripture. Off the top of my head I can't recall if any of the confessions directly address the issue in so many words, but the practice is forbidden due to the necessity of self-examination etc. that is noted in the confessions and/or catechisms. There have been some Study Committees in some denominations (the OPC comes to mind) that predated the FV controversy. However the rejection of paedocommunion was upheld.

Given the recent FV controversy, there is a lot of information about paedocommunion online. Monergism has a lot of it linked. There have been a good number of threads on this board addressing it as well.


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## Rufus (Feb 20, 2012)

I believe it may be against board rules to advocate it, and no my church does not practice it.


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## jwright82 (Feb 20, 2012)

http://www.puritanboard.com/f15/some-thoughts-paedocommunion-58166/.

Here is a thread I started when I first joined this website. For the record I wholly believe that Paedocommunion is wrong now so my posts for the most part are not what I believe today.


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## Sviata Nich (Feb 20, 2012)

Thank you, everyone!


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## Zach (Feb 20, 2012)

It's also unbiblical given the Biblical command to examine oneself before the Lord's Table.


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## Constantlyreforming (Feb 20, 2012)

so, how old is old enough?


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## Zach (Feb 20, 2012)

Constantlyreforming said:


> so, how old is old enough?



I would say it varies from child to child because the Bible does not give an acceptable age, merely a charge to examine oneself.


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## Constantlyreforming (Feb 20, 2012)

I agree. SHould the elders examine every young participant, do you think?


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## Peairtach (Feb 20, 2012)

A credible profession of faith by an adult is required for the outer door of the visible Church, baptism, and their children should also be baptised.

An accredited profession of faith is required for the Lord's Supper, the inner door of the visible Church.


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## Jack K (Feb 20, 2012)

I have no doubt there are other congregations under the "Reformed" banner besides the Federal Vision folks who allow it, some by default simply by not fencing the table very strictly. But the confessions say "no," and in most Reformed churches it is not the practice.


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## jwright82 (Feb 22, 2012)

I have to say that I never found the whole argument from 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 to be the most convincing in this whole debate. Not that it doesn't teach what everyone is saying I just think that it is not the most complelling. For me I moved from considering it allowed and leaning that direction to realizing it is wrong in studying covenant theology. It is when I studyed Berkhof and Scripture on covenant theology that I realized that their case seems to hinge on a flat or mono type view of the covenant. There is no internal/external distinction that seems to to be essential to historic covenant theology.

Doug Wilson accuses us of adopting an arminian view towards the sacrament in our appeal to these verses. But I think that he just flattens out the covenant in his overreaction to a perceived, not actual, problem.


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## Peairtach (Feb 22, 2012)

Baptism is biblically-speaking required before one partakes of the Lord's Supper, just as circumcision was required for males before they partook of the Passover, but there is not an automatic right to the Passover or the Lord's Supper merely because one is circumcised or baptised. 

For instance the permission to partake of the Passover or the Lord's Supper can be removed. A person may be a suitable candidate for circumcision or baptism, but may not be a suitable candidate to partake of the Passover or the Lord's Supper for the first time.


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