A Reflection on Communion by Internet

Author: 
Iain Torrance

The outlines the writer’s reasons for saying at the outset that he is not persuaded that partaking in an act of communion mediated by the internet is intrinsically different from partaking in one while out of sight in a corner of a cathedral and following the liturgy through a loudspeaker. A 17th century debate is revisited which related to the legitimacy of baptism administered privately. The argument turns on the elasticity of delivery.

 

Reference: 
Volume 55 2020, p1-4
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Iain Torrance is Pro-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen where he is an Honorary Professor in Early Christian Doctrine and Ethics. He is President Emeritus of Princeton Theological Seminary, and was appointed a Chaplain to HM The Queen in 2001. He served as Dean of the Chapel Royal in Scotland from 2013-2019, Dean of the Order of The Thistle from 2014-2019, and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2003-2004. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the New Year Honours List 2018 for services to Higher Education and Theology, and a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) for his service to The Queen in July 2019.