Church: Wafers Will Have Gluten, Wine Will Have Alcohol

Got a sensitive stomach that can't handle gluten or booze? You're out of luck if you want to receive Holy Communion in the Church of England, which announced on Monday that it was refusing to allow gluten-free bread and nonalcoholic wine to be subbed in for in the sacrament. Per the Independent, although the General Synod, the church's legislative body, has conceded in a ruling that there's an "injustice" for those who can't consume the standard wafers and wine used in the church's services to symbolize the body and blood of Jesus Christ, that's just the way it has to be, and that all congregants can still somehow be accommodated.

According to Church of England guidelines, the bread product used in Holy Communion, "whether leavened or unleavened, shall be of the best and purest wheat flour that conveniently may be gotten," while the wine must be "the fermented juice of the grape," per Yahoo. That means alcohol-free Communion wine wouldn't do the trick, as it would be "nullified" by not going through the fermentation process, per the Guardian. It also means that alternative wafers made of rice, potato flour, or tapioca can't be used, either, as there's no wheat flour contained therein.

Wafers made with wheat flour that has had its gluten levels reduced somewhat are still permitted, though there will be a trace of gluten that remains. Those participating in the Eucharistic ritual can also choose to receive a blessing instead of taking Communion. "Even believers who cannot physically receive the sacrament are to be assured that they are partakers by faith of the body and blood of Christ, and of the benefits he conveys to us by them," says Lichfield Bishop Michael Ipgrave, the head of the church's liturgical commission. (More Church of England stories.)