Solemn Communion?

[samcarter14]

Our priest suggested to us that our oldest is ready to prepare for his Solemn Communion and chrismation on Pentecost. Any info on a solemn communion in the Eastern Church? He said our son should be able to recite the Nicene Creed and fully understand what Communion is, and also make a confession. He’s done confession before in the Orthodox church.

 

[wynd]

Are you doing this at an Eastern Catholic parish? My understanding was that Eastern (Byzantine) Catholics baptize, chrismate and commune infants all at the same time.

 

[Patchunky]

Our priest suggested to us that our oldest is ready to prepare for his Solemn Communion and chrismation on Pentecost. Any info on a solemn communion in the Eastern Church? He said our son should be able to recite the Nicene Creed and fully understand what Communion is, and also make a confession. He’s done confession before in the Orthodox church.

If he’s done confession in the Orthodox church before, why is he doing a “Solemn Communion” in a Byzantine church?

Something’s not right here…

 

[Patrick1982]

So he has confessed in the Orthodox Church; therefore he must have been Chrismated and recieved Holy Communion, yet he’s supposed to ‘make’ a ‘Solemn Communion’ (whatever that is)? What sort of blasphemy is going on here?

 

[samcarter14]

DS was baptized in the Roman Catholic rite, and then when we converted to Orthodoxy, he was chrismated in the Orthodox church.

However, we have no records of his chrismation; the priest at the Orthodox church refuses to release them or even speak to us after we left. He is angry that we are no longer giving money to the church. It is a big, tangled mess over there, trust me. Even when my oldest asked to make a confession at the Orthodox church, the priest made a big deal about how he didn’t have to, it was unnceccessary, et cetera. Our son was 7 at the time. The priest heard his confession grudgingly.

So. DH and I were both baptized as babies in the Roman rite, and our two oldest were chrismated and received Communion in the Orthodox church. Our youngest was baptized in the Orthodox Church, however we have no records and are not likely to be able to get any from the Orthodox church. Our son will eventually need records of his sacraments when he is an adult. What would all of you suggest we do?

 

[samcarter14]

Also, am I correct in remembering that long ago, in the Roman rite, at least, there used to be Solemn Communion that was received around 7-8th grade? That is what my elderly neighbors have told me, that they had First Communion when they were young, but then Solemn Communion at Confirmation.

According to my priest, he said this will mark our son’s beginning to receive Holy Communion “under his own auspices” rather than ours; because in the Eastern Church there is communion of infants, the parents bring their children up for Communion. After Solemn Communion, it will then be up to our son each Liturgy to prepare himself for Holy Communion, to make confession if neccessary, and to decide if he wishes to receive.

My priest is a very serious and devout man who loves the Church. I highly doubt he would have us doing anything blasphemous.

 

[malphono]

DS was baptized in the Roman Catholic rite, and then when we converted to Orthodoxy, he was chrismated in the Orthodox church.

However, we have no records of his chrismation; the priest at the Orthodox church refuses to release them or even speak to us after we left. He is angry that we are no longer giving money to the church. It is a big, tangled mess over there, trust me. Even when my oldest asked to make a confession at the Orthodox church, the priest made a big deal about how he didn’t have to, it was unnceccessary, et cetera. Our son was 7 at the time. The priest heard his confession grudgingly.

So. DH and I were both baptized as babies in the Roman rite, and our two oldest were chrismated and received Communion in the Orthodox church. Our youngest was baptized in the Orthodox Church, however we have no records and are not likely to be able to get any from the Orthodox church. Our son will eventually need records of his sacraments when he is an adult. What would all of you suggest we do?

It seems strange to me that you were never given documentation of baptism, etc. I guess I was mistaken in the thought that the Orthodox habitually provided same to members. You might try an appeal to the Orthodox bishop in an attempt to force the priest’s hand, but whether or not that would be successful would, I suppose, depend on which Orthodox body is involved (some are more agreeable than others) and also on the disposition of the bishop himself. All together, it rather puts you in a sticky wicket.

Anyway, I’m not a Canon Lawyer, but the “easy way out” (so-to-speak) would seem to be to undergo “conditional baptism” (or chrismation" etc), which will provide the necessary records. Since the rites did indeed take place in the Orthodox Church and so were valid in the first place, the “conditional form” will have no sacramental effect.

 

[malphono]

Also, am I correct in remembering that long ago, in the Roman rite, at least, there used to be Solemn Communion that was received around 7-8th grade? That is what my elderly neighbors have told me, that they had First Communion when they were young, but then Solemn Communion at Confirmation. …

Personally, I have never heard of “solemn communion” whether in the Latin Church or otherwise. As I recall, in the “old” (read: pre-conciliar) days in the Latin Church, First Communion was usually at age 6 or 7 (1st grade), and Confirmation at age 10 or 11 (5th-6th grade). I have no idea of the post-conciliar practices of the Latin Church.

 

[samcarter14]

It seems strange to me that you were never given documentation of baptism, etc. I guess I was mistaken in the thought that the Orthodox habitually provided same to members. You might try an appeal to the Orthodox bishop in an attempt to force the priest’s hand, but whether or not that would be successful would, I suppose, depend on which Orthodox body is involved (some are more agreeable than others) and also on the disposition of the bishop himself. All together, it rather puts you in a sticky wicket.

Anyway, I’m not a Canon Lawyer, but the “easy way out” (so-to-speak) would seem to be to undergo “conditional baptism” (or chrismation" etc), which will provide the necessary records. Since the rites did indeed take place in the Orthodox Church and so were valid in the first place, the “conditional form” will have no sacramental effect.

Thank you for your charitable response. No, we were not given any documentation of the baptism or our chrismations. None of the other catechumens were either; we were told it was too difficult since they did not have a secretary at the church at the time.

The bishop and the priest are very good friends, and the bishop is known for avoiding confrontation, so I’m not sure how that would play out. My DH is inclined to not try to force the issue.

The conditional form you speak of sounds like what our priest is going for, in order to formally have our son be enrolled as an Eastern Rite Catholic. I will of course speak to Father in more detail about it all.

 

[Diak]

“Solemn Communion” is a fairly recent but common term used to describe the Holy Communion after the First Confession (and Chrismation if this was not received in infancy) in several Eastern Catholic Churches, when the child is old enough to confess and also begin making a preparation for receiving the Holy Mysteries.

Your priest is being consistent with the directives when for one reason or another, the initiation was not completed sequentially. You might also get him some preparatory prayers for Holy Communion, even if a few short ones. Prayers for this blessed day for you and your child.

 

[samcarter14]

“Solemn Communion” is a fairly recent but common term used to describe the Holy Communion after the First Confession (and Chrismation if this was not received in infancy) in several Eastern Catholic Churches, when the child is old enough to confess and also begin making a preparation for receiving the Holy Mysteries.

Your priest is being consistent with the directives when for one reason or another, the initiation was not completed sequentially. You might also get him some preparatory prayers for Holy Communion, even if a few short ones. Prayers for this blessed day for you and your child.

Thank you! We will be reviewing the Creed and I will look into those prayers. I’m glad to hear this is a common practice.

 

[Ghosty]

Thank you! We will be reviewing the Creed and I will look into those prayers. I’m glad to hear this is a common practice.

It is practiced at our Melkite/Maronite mission as well. The children receive Communion from the time they’re Baptised and Confirmed as infants, but when they reach the age when they should begin Confession they are given more in-depth instruction on the meaning of the Sacraments and we have a “Solemn Communion” for them. In some regards it’s similar to the First Communion celebrated in the Latin Church, but obviously it’s not the “First” for these children by a long shot.

Peace and God bless!

 

[samcarter14]

It is practiced at our Melkite/Maronite mission as well. The children receive Communion from the time they’re Baptised and Confirmed as infants, but when they reach the age when they should begin Confession they are given more in-depth instruction on the meaning of the Sacraments and we have a “Solemn Communion” for them. In some regards it’s similar to the First Communion celebrated in the Latin Church, but obviously it’s not the “First” for these children by a long shot.

Peace and God bless!

What you describe sounds exactly like what our priest was describing. He said he wanted our son to understand what Communion was (and my son piped up, “Of course I know that! It’s receiving the body and blood of Jesus Christ!” which blew me away, that he remembered us talking about that), and to be able to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

My mother in law will be thrilled if she can come out for Pentecost, which is when Father wants to schedule the Solemn Communion. The only thing she was wistful about when we started attending the Eastern Church was, “But what about First Communion? Won’t they get to have a first Communion?” Well, she can come to his Solemn Communion.

 

[Phemie]

Also, am I correct in remembering that long ago, in the Roman rite, at least, there used to be Solemn Communion that was received around 7-8th grade? That is what my elderly neighbors have told me, that they had First Communion when they were young, but then Solemn Communion at Confirmation.

You’re right, there was such a thing in the Roman Rite but it wasn’t universal. It originated in France at some point after Pius X called for First Communion to start being given at ‘the age of reason’ (1910). Previously, Communion usually occurred after Confirmation and might be delayed as long as into adulthood.

When it started being given at the age of 7 they started to call it ‘la petite communion’ (little communion) and it was regarded as a family moment. Once the children had received their First Communion it wasn’t unusual for them to be confirmed next time the bishop came to town. In my case communion was at age 6 with confirmation the next year.

To mark an adult faith they started having ‘Solemn Communion’ at the age of 14 or 15. It involved special preparation and was a parish celebration. In my parish that was discontinued around 1969. Note that mine was a French parish. I’m not sure that it was common practice in the English parishes in my diocese. It was around the same time that confirmation started being pushed back later and later.

 

[malphono]

It is practiced at our Melkite/Maronite mission as well. The children receive Communion from the time they’re Baptised and Confirmed as infants, but when they reach the age when they should begin Confession they are given more in-depth instruction on the meaning of the Sacraments and we have a “Solemn Communion” for them. In some regards it’s similar to the First Communion celebrated in the Latin Church, but obviously it’s not the “First” for these children by a long shot.

Peace and God bless!

I’m only piping up to say that infant communion is not a usual practice among the Maronites. Christmation, on the other hand, is.

 

[C_Alexander]

I’ve also seen this in Eastern Catholic churches following the child’s first confession. In the churches I’ve seen it in, a child is baptized, chrismated and communed as a baby but is not communed again until the First Solemn Communion or the child is not given a piece of the Body in the Eucharist until then but only communed with the co-mingled Blood. It was explained to me as a gradual elimination of First Communion having been introduced from the west, but I don’t know if that’s the true origin.

There is a process for recreating records which involves using pictures or witnesses to the sacraments. If you know that the child validly received the sacraments, you don’t need to do conditional sacraments to establish records. You need to go through the process of establishing records. Churches catch on fire and papers are lost, so this isn’t an unheard of circumstance. I think I read that both parents are Roman Catholic and if that is right then the baby who was baptized Orthodox and who is going to be rebaptized by an Eastern Catholic priest will be Roman Catholic, too.

 

[Mom_of_5]

There is nothing new about “Solemn Communion”. As a child, we lived on a farm near a small town. Confirmation was held about every three or four years when the Bishop could get to this rather remote area. All those from age 7 and over were urged to make their confirmation, if they didn’t, no one knew for sure when it would be available again.

My sister went to communion, then was confirmed at age 7. Communion was not in the white dress, etc., just with the family, no formal instruction. Some years later, after we moved to a sizable town, I was old enough to make my first communion. My sister was 10 at the time. She made her solemn communion with me, white dress, veil and all. I enjoy the black and white group picture we posed for that day, with the nuns and priests.

Love and peace,
Mom of 5