Infant Communion

That practice has been the exception not the norm. When it comes to Lutheran church bodies in the United States, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) allows its congregations the flexibility to adopt and implement that practice.

While Scripture of course does not designate a specific age when people can begin receiving the Lord’s Supper, it does provide guidance and rationale for not communing the very young. “So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). Our historic practice of youth Confirmation and Holy Communion reception has those Bible verses in mind.