LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 295

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THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
temporal, and technological gap between the consecration and the
distribution and reception; and
WHEREAS, The Sacrament of the Altar serves to strengthen faith
against all doubts (Augsburg Confession [AC] XIII) and is “given
for a daily pasture and sustenance, that faith may refresh and
strengthen itself so as not to fall back in such battle, but become
ever stronger and stronger” (Large Catechism V 24), while it is
incumbent on all faithful ministers of the Gospel to remove all
obstacles that create doubt regarding what Christ offers in this
Sacrament or detracts from it (AC XXIV); and
WHEREAS, The pastoral office is responsible for oversight of the
administration of the Sacrament in accordance with the keys
conferred upon the pastor by virtue of his call (AC XIV; C.F.W.
Walther’s Theses on the Ministry V and VII); and
WHEREAS, No theological justification for the novel practice of
“online or virtual Communion” has existed within the Synod or the
Lutheran tradition nor has been advanced in the circles advocating
for it on the basis of the principally relevant texts (sedes doctrinae)
of Holy Scripture or the Lutheran Confessions; and
WHEREAS, The Sacrament of the Altar has been established by
our Lord according to His words of institution, commanding
literally, “This keep on doing” (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24–25) which
indicates that this use of the Sacrament should be kept according to
His institution and that “nothing is a sacrament without the
appointed use” as set forth by those same words of institution (FC
SD VII 73); and
WHEREAS, The uniformity in practice has, from the foundation
of the Synod, been considered desirable (1847 Constitution Articles
I 3; II 4; IV 10; V 14) and remains an endeavor toward which
congregations are encouraged to strive (Const. Art. II 7); therefore
be it
Resolved, That the Indiana District reject the practice of “online
or virtual Communion” as it is contrary to the Word of God and the
Lutheran Confessions; and be it further
Resolved, That the Indiana District president, on behalf of the
district, admonish congregations practicing “online or virtual
Communion” to cease this divisive practice; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Indiana District memorialize the 2023 Synod
convention to reject the practice of “online or virtual Communion.”
Indiana District
Ov. 5-15

To Reject Practice
of Online or Virtual Communion
WHEREAS, In the wake of the incipient pandemic, congregations
throughout the Synod sought to provide spiritual care to their
congregations when public health measures prohibited gathering for
corporate worship services; and
WHEREAS, Those attempts included among some the practice of
online or virtual Communion, which had heretofore not been
practiced in the Synod or endorsed by seminary faculties or the
Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR); and
WHEREAS, The CTCR and the systematic theology departments
of both seminaries issued opinions that unequivocally and
unanimously argued against the practice of online or virtual
Communion; and

295

WHEREAS, The CTCR affirmed its 2006 opinion on DVD
consecration and applied its rationale to online or virtual
Communion, putting forward the arguments—among others—that
this practice:
• severs the consecration of the Sacrament through the words
of institution from the distribution and reception of the
Sacrament;
• potentially and unnecessarily sows doubt in the minds of
communicants as to whether the elements received are in fact
the sacrament of Christ’s body and blood;
• vitiates the instrumental role of pastoral care in the
administration of the Sacrament through the lack of pastoral
oversight, preparation of communicants, and admission to
the table; and
• detracts from the corporate assembly of God’s people around
the Lord’s Supper as an expression of their common
confession of Christ and unity in the faith;
and
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Confessions (Formula of Concord [FC]
SD VII) indicate that the proper use of the Sacrament includes a
unified consecration, distribution, and reception, none of which are
to be severed from the other, yet the practice of online or virtual
Communion would interject a spatial, temporal, and technological
gap between the consecration and the distribution and reception;
and
WHEREAS, The Sacrament of the Altar serves to strengthen faith
against all doubts (Augsburg Confession [AC] XIII) and is “given
for a daily pasture and sustenance, that faith may refresh and
strengthen itself (Psalm 23:1–3) so as not to fall back in such a
battle, but become ever stronger and stronger” (Large Catechism V
24), while it is incumbent upon the faithful ministers of the Gospel
to remove all obstacles that create doubt regarding what Christ
offers in the Sacrament or detracts from it (AC XXIV), yet the
practice of online or virtual Communion may result in uncertainty
regarding the validity of a Sacrament thus celebrated (as even the
anonymous tract “Communion in Homes in Times of Crisis” admits
when it concedes that uncertainty may cause some people to refrain
from participating in an online Communion service); and
WHEREAS, The pastoral office is responsible for oversight of the
administration of the Sacrament in accordance with the keys
conferred upon the pastor by virtue of his call (AC XIV; Walther’s
Theses on the Ministry V and VII); and
WHEREAS, No theological justification for the novel practice of
online or virtual Communion has existed within the Synod or in the
Lutheran tradition nor has been advanced in the circles advocating
for it on the basis of the principally relevant texts (sedes doctrinae)
of Holy Scripture or of the Lutheran Confessions; and
WHEREAS, The Sacrament of the Altar has been established by
our Lord according to His words of institution, commanding
literally “This keep on doing” (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24–25), which
indicates that this use of the Sacrament should be kept according to
His institution, and that “nothing is a sacrament without the
appointed use” as set forth by those same words of institution (FC
VII 73) and these texts (and all related) require serious study by the
church; and
WHEREAS, The uniformity in practice has, from the foundation
of the Synod, been considered desirable (1847 Constitution Article

2023 Convention Workbook