Designed specifically for laity, this manual offers practical tips and theological underpinnings of this Eucharistic ministry. In the Episcopal Church, the term Eucharistic Minister is used to denote someone who assists the priest with administering the Eucharist, often handling the wine. Ely offers historical perspective on this ministry, a theological overview, practical tips, plus an invitation to engage in the spiritual dimensions of serving one's local congregation as a Eucharistic Minister. She concludes the book with a chapter on how to establish this ministry in a local parish. The Rev. Canon Beth Wickenberg Ely is Regional Canon in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina and lives in Charlotte. Beth Wickenberg Ely is a former journalist, award-winning sportswriter, and editor. She currently serves as canon for regional ministry in the Diocese of North Carolina and is the author of A Manual for Eucharistic Visitors, also from Morehouse Publishing. The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry is the Episcopal Church’s 27th Presiding Bishop. He was the Bishop of North Carolina from 2000 to 2015. Bishop Curry has a national preaching and teaching ministry and is a regular on TV and radio and a frequent speaker at conferences around the country. His books include Crazy Christians: A Call to Follow Jesus ; Following the Way of Jesus: Church’s Teachings for a Changing World ; and Love Is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times. THE CUP OF SALVATION A Manual for Eucharistic Ministers By BETH WICKENBERG ELY Morehouse Publishing Copyright © 2012 Beth Wickenberg Ely All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8192-2814-7 Contents Chapter One EUCHARIST It is truly extraordinary that in The Episcopal Church the laity now can receive the body of Christ in their hands and the blood from the chalice, both administered by another layperson. The confluence of these developments—communion in two kinds; the body received in the hands; and laypeople distributing the sacrament as licensed Eucharistic Ministers—is theologically revolutionary. The earliest Christians handled the body and blood freely. Lay Christians routinely took the bread home with them from the Sunday eucharist, where they kept it nearby in case of emergency. Life in ancient times was tenuous. An accident that would seem trivial today could kill a person. Childbirth was just as likely to cause death to the mother as the infant, or both. Any journey was fraught with dangers of accidents, bandits, getting lost, and falling ill. A cooking mishap could be fatal. The faithful wanted to make sure they had access to communion in an emergency when a priest could not be found, thus you have laypeople communicating themselves and others with the consecrated elements. Deacons and laypeople also took communion to the sick during the week. The early Christians also treated the sacrament like a lucky charm, and some carried it around their neck in a pouch to ward off danger and evil. An early story tells of Satyrus, who was on a sea voyage. When his ship wrecked, he tied the sacrament around his neck, jumped into the sea, and credited its presence for saving him from a certain death. The earliest Christians probably received bread in their right hand, kissing it and moving it to their own mouths. From about the fourth century, women were required to wrap a cloth around their right hand in order to receive. Some laity drank the wine directly from the chalice and others through a small tube or fistula . These early practices were not uniform. One of the earliest writers, St. Cyril of Jerusalem (ca. 313–86), gives a blueprint for faithful reception of the body and the blood: In approaching therefore, come not with thy wrists extended, or thy fingers spread; but make thy left hand a throne for the right, as for that which is to receive a King. And having hollowed thy palm, receive the Body of Christ, saying over it, Amen . So then after having carefully hallowed thine eyes by the touch of the Holy Body, partake of it; giving heed lest thou lose any portion thereof.... Then after thou hast partaken of the Body of Christ, draw near also to the Cup of His Blood; not stretching forth thine hands, but bending, and saying with an air of worship and reverence, Amen , hallow thyself by partaking also of the Blood of Christ. And while the moisture is still upon thy lips, touch it with thine hands, and hallow thine eyes and brow and the other organs of sense. But writing at the same time as St. Cyril, St. Basil of Caesarea (330–79) tells us that receiving the bread in the hand is only allowed in times of persecution. He suggests what many other writers do: that reception of the eucharist on the tongue is the norm. * ACCESS LIMITED As the church became what we know as the Church, the increasing number of converts necessitated further organization. The Church began to set aside (ordained) leaders, and the clergy began to restrict the l