Can Catholics Receive Communion in Protestant Churches?
Question: Dear Father Cush, I recently had the opportunity to attend a Lutheran Church for their Sunday service. I was encouraged to receive Holy Communion by my friend who told me that both the Lutheran and the Catholic churches believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. I refrained from reception because I did not think this is the case. Do Lutherans believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist?
Answer: Thanks for your question! We as Catholic Christians share many beliefs in common, of course, with our Protestant Lutheran separated brethren. However, although both the Catholic Church and the various Lutheran synods speak of the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we believe very different things about the Real Presence.
This is a short summary of what most Lutherans believe about Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist:
The Lutheran understanding of the Real Presence in the Eucharist (often called the Sacrament of the Altar or Holy Communion in Lutheran traditions) is that Christ is truly present in the elements of bread and wine. Lutherans believe in what is called sacramental union or consubstantiation, though Luther himself did not use this latter term. This view holds that the body and blood of Christ are truly and mysteriously present “in, with, and under” the bread and wine during Communion, but the bread and wine retain their own substance.
For Lutherans, the Eucharist is not merely symbolic. When Jesus said, “This is my body . . . This is my blood” (Matthew 26:26–28), Lutherans interpret this as a literal statement, believing that Christ’s body and blood are truly given for believers to eat and drink in the sacrament.
Lutherans describe the presence of Christ as a sacramental union, meaning that Jesus’ body and blood are united with the bread and wine. Unlike the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, where the bread and wine are believed to change in substance while the appearances remain the same, Lutherans believe the bread and wine retain their nature and are at the same time joined with Christ’s body and blood in a unique, mysterious way.
Lutherans emphasize that Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist is due to Christ’s words of institution (“This is my body . . . This is my blood”) rather than the faith of the participants. However, they also believe that faith is essential to receive the benefits of the sacrament — namely, forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.
While the doctrine of sacramental union is clear about Christ’s Real Presence, Lutherans also embrace a sense of mystery. Martin Luther emphasized that human reason could not fully understand or explain this presence. For him, it was enough to trust in Christ’s words, allowing the mystery to remain in the realm of faith.
Like many other Protestant traditions, Lutherans generally administer Communion in both kinds — both bread and wine — believing that Christ’s command to “take and eat” and “drink” applies to both elements.
This doctrine is rooted in Luther’s insistence on taking Jesus’ words literally, as well as his desire to honor the sacrament as a true means of grace. Lutherans thus hold a middle ground between the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the purely symbolic views found in some other Protestant traditions. The Augsburg Confession, an important Lutheran statement of faith, articulates this belief, affirming that Christ’s body and blood are truly present and distributed to those who partake in the Lord’s Supper.
To return to the incident described in your question: Can a Catholic receive Holy Communion in the Lutheran, Anglican/Episcopal, or any Protestant denomination?
The Catholic Church generally prohibits Catholics from receiving Holy Communion in non-Catholic Christian denominations. The key reasons are differences in the understanding of the Eucharist, church authority, and communion as a sign of ecclesial unity. However, there are exceptions under specific, grave circumstances. Below is a detailed explanation with official documentation:
- General Prohibition
The Catholic Church teaches that Holy Communion is not only a means of receiving grace but also a visible sign of ecclesial unity. Since Protestant denominations, including Lutheran, Anglican/Episcopal, and others, do not share the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist — particularly the doctrine of the Real Presence as transubstantiation, apostolic succession, and the sacrificial nature of the Mass — Catholics are ordinarily prohibited from receiving Communion in these churches.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1400:
“Ecclesial communities derived from the Reformation and separated from the Catholic Church . . . have not preserved the proper reality of the Eucharistic mystery in its fullness, especially because of the absence of the sacrament of Holy Orders.”
Consequently, Catholic participation in their Eucharistic celebrations would imply a unity that does not exist. - Canon 844 §1 (Code of Canon Law):
“Catholic ministers administer the sacraments licitly only to Catholic members of Christ’s faithful, who equally receive them licitly from Catholic ministers alone.”
- Exceptions in Grave Circumstances
The Church allows for rare exceptions under specific conditions, particularly when there is a grave necessity and no access to a Catholic minister. Even then, these exceptions apply only to churches with valid sacraments, such as the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Protestant denominations, including Lutherans and Anglicans/Episcopalians, do not meet this criterion because they lack valid apostolic succession.
- Canon 844 §2–3:
“Whenever necessity requires or true spiritual advantage suggests, and provided that danger of error or indifferentism is avoided, the faithful for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic minister are permitted to receive the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick from non-Catholic ministers in whose Churches these sacraments are valid.”
This applies only to churches with valid Holy Orders, such as the Eastern Orthodox, not Protestant communities. - Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism (1993), No. 122:
“Catholic ministers may licitly administer the sacraments only to members of Churches which have a valid priesthood.”
Even if invited to receive Communion in a Protestant church, Catholics must refrain because Protestant Communion does not constitute the Eucharist as understood by Catholic teaching. Participation could cause confusion about the Catholic faith and give the false impression of full ecclesial unity.
- Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Ecumenical Directory:
“Sharing in the Eucharist with members of other ecclesial communities requires proper respect for the faith and discipline of the Catholic Church, which understands the Eucharist as the sacrament of unity in the Church.”
A Catholic may not receive Holy Communion in Protestant churches, such as Lutheran or Anglican/Episcopal, because these communities lack the full Eucharistic mystery and valid Holy Orders. Exceptions are only permitted in grave circumstances involving churches with valid sacraments (e.g., Orthodox). Catholics are called to respect these teachings to preserve the integrity of the Eucharist and ecclesial unity.
For further reading, consult:
- Catechism of the Catholic Church (1997), §§1400, 1398–1401
- Code of Canon Law (1983), Canon 844
- Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism (1993).
A Theology of the Church
Question: Fr. Cush, I am beginning to read the twentieth-century theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. Does he have a specific ecclesiology, a theology of the Church?
Answer: Thanks for your question! Yes, Balthasar has a rather unique ecclesiology. His ecclesiology is both Christological and Mariological, meaning involving both Christ and Mary (and please remember that all of theology is connected and flows harmoniously, like a symphony, to use an image of Balthasar; so Christology, Mariology, Ecclesiology, Sacramental Theology, and the various other specializations in theology are all part of the beautiful construct of theology).
Balthasar’s ecclesiology is Christological. Human history comes from and is directed to Christ and thus, all human history shows forth the glory of God. Mary is the ultimate example of this showing forth of the Glory of God. Our Blessed Mother has been overshadowed by the Holy Spirit in the event of the Annunciation.
Balthasar states that the form of God’s glory (and of Divine Revelation) is Jesus Christ. What does Balthasar mean by form? Simply this: what the human mind can grasp. Christ is the intelligible embodiment of the Form. The Christian is called to rediscover the beauty of God’s revelation in the Form who is Christ Jesus. He has an incarnation ecclesiology. For Balthasar, Jesus is a concrete reality. Jesus, the Son of God, Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, shows that God, in Christ, wants to establish a relationship with man. The Church is not just an “add-on,” but is an essential element of the plan of God for all eternity in salvation.
Having stated this, what is Balthasar’s ecclesiology? Human relations with Christ have a twofold character. First, paradigmatic: This real and particular relationship with Christ and the individual man was the first instance of this relationship, but sets the pattern for the relationship for all eternity. And second, efficacious: Christ’s relationships, since he is God, transcend the normal conditions of a purely human relationship. His relationships transcend time and space. Therefore, for Balthasar, the Church flows from Christ’s timeless and eternal relationship as God, but are also concrete as man.
The Church is a constitutive part of the divine initiative and not a consequence or an afterthought. For Balthasar, the Church is a person. She is a subject because she knows and she wills. She is a collective subject who has a single center of consciousness. That single center is Christ Himself, and, as such, we must “sentire cum Ecclesia” (“think with the Church”).
The Church, for Balthasar, is the living ecclesial chain that guarantees man’s and creation’s contact with the Living God. This contact is made concrete in the timeless relationship that Christ has with the following individuals: Mary, Peter, John, Paul, and James, and these relationships are both efficacious and paradigmatic.
Mary’s fiat is fundamental and constitutive as feminine. She is the model of the Church as the Bride of Christ and demonstrates how we must respond as members of the Church. Mary’s life has a Trinitarian sense. She shows herself as obedient to the will of the Father, thus a Daughter; she bears the Divine Son in her Immaculate Womb, thus a Mother; and she is docile to the Spirit and therefore can be viewed as a Spouse.
Because Mary is the Immaculate Conception (her unique role in salvation history), she can be the meeting point for Christianity in time and in eternity. Mary’s relationship to the Church is ontological: “The Church is primarily feminine because her primacy, all-encompassing truth is her gratitude, which both receives the fist and passes it on.” The Fiat is perfect, unconditional, and universal. She as woman, virgin, bride, and mother constitutes the real form of the Church. She is the model, both ontologically and physically. She is the soul of the Church.
However, the Marian model is not enough for Balthasar. He describes some other models as well:
- Petrine: Office and Sacraments
- Pauline: Missionary and Charismatic
- Johannine: Unity, Contemplation, Evangelical Counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
- Jacobine (James): Continuity of the Two Testaments (Tradition) and Canon Law.
What do we mean by the Petrine Principle? Well, if the Marian principle is the subjective/feminine holiness of the Church, then the Petrine principle is the objective/masculine holiness of the Church.
The four principal elements of the objective Petrine holiness consist of Office and Sacraments.
The Church as the Bride of Christ receives her being and life from the Eucharist. The Church as the Bride of Christ received her being from Penance and Absolution. The Word of God, preached, leads us back to the Sacred Tradition. The Law of the Church must be followed in order for one to be justified (thus, the minor Jacobine principle is always subject to the Petrine principle.) The sacraments which give permanent sacrament character, meaning Baptism, which gives grace, Confirmation, which gives mission, and Holy Orders, which gives office, all help Christians know Christ.
The binding principle is Marian. She is the determining form of the Church. Recall that the Petrine principle is never an end in itself. It is always subordinate and in service of the Marian principle. We use the Petrine/Jacobine principles to be more and more like Mary. Ultimately, it is the movement between the Marian and Petrine principles that make the Church.
The Church, as the bride of Christ is the extension and product of the living reality of Christ (and that requires the structure of Sacraments and Hierarchy, the Petrine Principle). The Church as Institution makes possible the nuptial relationship of Christ to his bride, the Church. Christ is the Head/Husband.
The Church as institution needs rules that are objective to follow (the Jacobine Principle). The Church as institution needs a Magisterium (teaching office) (the Petrine Principle). The Church as institution needs to guard the authenticity of the prophetic and charismatic elements of the Church (the Petrine Principle). There is a perichoresis (a mutual indwelling of love) between the Marian and the Petrine Offices.
Even with this, the Marian Principle is more fundamental. Every aspect of Church finds its roots and place in Mary. The Petrine principle (objective holiness and rule) serves as the safeguard to proposing our own human ideology over the rule of the Holy Spirit. For Balthasar, the Marian Principle is prior because it is pre-Apostolic; it is spiritually prior and thus, Mary’s faith moves from interior to exterior; the Apostles’ faith moves from exterior to interior, and finally, Mary’s faith is theologically prior because she is the Immaculate Conception. Therefore, one might say all that the Church does is to make us more like Mary, the perfect disciple of the Lord!
About Rev. John P. Cush, STD
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