I was thinking about communion the other day and just randomly started wondering about the use of grape juice instead of wine. Does anyone know approximately when grape juice began to be widely substituted for wine. I really have no idea, but my feeling is it probably has been in the last few hundred years. The reason I suspect this is that until the Reformation and the split between the RCC and the protestant churches, the church probably almost universally followed the catholic practice of using wine. Of course, I could be totally wrong. Any ideas?
Well, this actually happened somewhat in the early Christian Churches. While “wine” was certainly used early on (remember Paul’s admonition not to get drunk to the Corinthians—1 Cor 11, however, he did not say not to drink at all), the Essenes (and others, which commonly did not drink wine as part of their sect), as they were converted, introduced such teachings into the Church. There were times in Church history, where water ("Hydroparastatae"), honey, milk, and salt were used instead of wine. See if you can locate a copy of the Standard Encyclopedia of the Alcohol Problem. It is interesting (though probably not totally accurate) on this subject matter.
Believe it or not, it was only in the 19th century that the use of grape juice became widespread; it was not until after a pasteurization process was devised by none other than the Welch of Welch grape juice fame, coupled with the temperance movement of that time, that some churches moved away from wine in Communion.
Theo said: Believe it or not, it was only in the 19th century that the use of grape juice became widespread; it was not until after a pasteurization process was devised by none other than the Welch of Welch grape juice fame, coupled with the temperance movement of that time, that some churches moved away from wine in Communion.
Interesting article, but the "key word" is "widespread" (which was the intent of the second sentence of the original question, however I was addressing "the use of grape juice instead of wine"). Wine substitutes were nothing new as there were substitutes for wine all the way through Church History. If one desires just a recent history then here is a brief history on Baptists ... and wine.
From the beginning of the movement in the 1600s into the 1860s, Baptists used wine and bread, which were usually prepared within the church family, for Communion. In times of short supply, other staples, such as beer, brandy, biscuits, and cake, were also used. With the advent of the American temperance crusade, however, Baptists became suspicious of alcoholic beverages and looked for substitutes. By the 1880s when unfermented grape juice was introduced to the market, a debate was raging among Baptists about what Christ and his disciples used and how the word oinos should be translated. Baptists concluded (with the help of available technology) that grape juice was the only acceptable beverage for the Lord’s Supper. Still today Baptists will refer to “wine” or “fruit of the vine” by which they mean grape juice.
Baptists also commonly distribute the “wine” in individual Communion cups. The use of these came about later in the history of the group. The medical profession in the 1860s came to understand, through the “germ theory,” the origin of disease. Rochester, New York theologians wondered about the implications of this theory for the administration of the ordinance. They designed individual glass cups to be used to avoid “the maladies which are spread by mouth such as cancer, tuberculosis, influenza, and whooping cough,” when the common cup was passed. (Indeed, with the gradual shift from wine to grape juice, there was some plausibility to the concern, from an historical perspective.) The first use of individual glass cups occurred at the North Baptist Church in Rochester, New York, in 1854.
Technology and science thus brought about fundamental changes which theologians then had to account for. The concept of the minister as priest serving the sacrament to people changed to the concept of the priesthood of all believers as deacons served individual members in a democratized Lord’s Supper. And an entirely new school of biblical interpretation grew up around the meaning of “wine” in the Word.
Christian History : The Baptists. electronic ed. Carol Stream IL: Christianity Today, 1985; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996.
Thanks for that information. I should have been clearer that I did not see any conflict between your first post and the information I was giving--and I had not known about the individual glass cups beginning to be used as early as 1854! I guess the temperance movement and the "germ theory" were co-existent!
Thanks for that post--that reference book you are using appears to be fascinating. I may have to look for it in a library.
The primitive baptist insist that only real wine and unleavened bread may be used. From their website Q&A:
Quote
Question: Why do Primitive Baptists use real wine and real unleavened bread in communion?
While scriptural descriptions of the original communion use the terms bread, the cup, and fruit of the vine, it may be conclusively inferred that the bread was unleavened and that the drink was fermented wine. This follows from:
The communion took place immediately after the Passover. This was a time in which leavened bread was prohibited, both by scriptural law and by Jewish tradition (Ex 12:3-8, Num 9:9-11, Deut 16:1-3, Mt 26:17, Mk 14:12, Lk 22:7). Leaven is used in the scriptures as an emblem of sin (Lk 12:1, I Cor 5:6-8, Gal 5:7-9) and is therefore an unsuitable representative of the Lord's body. Wine is symbolically consistent with unleavened bread in that neither contain leaven. On the other hand, unfermented grape juice would contradict all that is portended by the unleavened bread because grape juice typically does contain leaven. There are some who erroneously assert that the opposite is true - that wine contains leaven but grape juice does not. The reader is invited to consult any authority on wine chemistry to resolve the matter. Wine was a traditional part of the Jewish Passover. Without modern methods of refrigeration, grape juice could not be preserved for all times of the year. The Passover season was not conducive to grape juice since it was well between harvests. The Corinthians obviously used a fermented substance in their communion service since they perverted it into a drunken festival (I Cor 11:20-30). Paul condemns them for their impiety and excesses, but not for the usage of wine in communion. The importance of adhering to the scriptural example in this matter cannot be questioned since God punished the Corinthians with illness and death for departing from it (I Cor 11:29-30). The usage of a leavened substance, such as grape juice, to represent the Lord is, in our opinion, a severe negligence, and is at risk of being chargeable as failure to discern the body of the Lord (I Cor 11:29).
Well speratus get ten Baptists together you get eleven different interpretations keep that in mind. There almost as bad as Lutherans. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/rofl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/rofl.gif" alt="" />
Peter
If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. Augustine of Hippo
Yes, there has been a lively debate in Lutheran circles on this very subject. Some Lutheran ministers do consecrate grape juice for alcoholics and for prisoners in jails that forbid any alcohol and, perhaps, for entire congregations. The theological justification: the ancient practices of killing the natural yeast of the grape by boiling or fumigating with sulfur and storage at cold temperatures. However, I have seen no evidence that these practices were actually in use in Palestine at the time of Christ.
speratus said: Yes, there has been a lively debate in Lutheran circles on this very subject. Some Lutheran ministers do consecrate grape juice for alcoholics and for prisoners in jails that forbid any alcohol and, perhaps, for entire congregations. The theological justification: the ancient practices of killing the natural yeast of the grape by boiling or fumigating with sulfur and storage at cold temperatures. However, I have seen no evidence that these practices were actually in use in Palestine at the time of Christ.
Yeah isn't it too bad that the Augsburg confession didn't have a thing to say about it.
Peter
If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. Augustine of Hippo
...the Augsburg confession didn't have a thing to say about it.
Nor should it. Scripture alone establishes articles of faith. A congregation of Christians may have a pious opinion that "This do" requires the sole use of fermented grape wine and unleavened wheat bread based on the historical context of the supper. Another church may have a pious opinion that grape juice and leavened bread are permitted. There is no requirement in scripture that sacramental ceremonies must be completely uniform among all churches.
