[[Church History]] / Communion Frequency > [!note] New - 2026-03-26 ![[assets/covers/communion-frequency.jpg]] The frequency with which the [[Eucharist]] is administered and received has varied significantly throughout Christian history, and the assumptions about communion practice that seem natural to modern worshippers are actually quite recent innovations. The [[Book of Common Prayer]] made deliberate changes to how often parishioners were expected to receive the sacrament, establishing patterns that dominated Anglican practice for centuries. ## Mediaeval Practice and [[Reformation and Liturgical Change|Reformation Shifts]] Before the Reformation, the laity were required to take communion only once a year, at Easter.[^bray-common-prayer-p78] This annual reception was the minimum expectation, not the norm of frequent participation. The Book of Common Prayer departed significantly from this pattern, requiring instead that parishioners receive communion ‘at least three times in the year, of which Easter shall be one’.[^bray-common-prayer-p78] This represented a deliberate increase in the expected frequency of sacramental participation. ## Frequency and Preparation While the Prayer Book permitted communion to be offered more frequently than the mandated three times yearly, reception was conditional on intentional preparation.[^bray-common-prayer-p78] After [[Morning Prayer]], the [[Litany]], and the first part of the Communion service through page 251, those who had not prepared to receive would depart the church, leaving only the communicants to participate in the remainder of the service. [[Liturgical Structure and Consistency|This structure acknowledged that not all worshippers present for the earlier parts of the liturgy would necessarily receive communion on every occasion it was offered]]. ## The Long Persistence of Infrequent Communion Despite the Prayer Book’s provision for more frequent celebrations, a pattern of monthly or quarterly Communion services became the usual practice in most Anglican churches and persisted until the second half of the twentieth century.[^bray-common-prayer-p78] The mandated three-times-yearly minimum rarely translated into weekly celebrations in parish churches. This pattern held remarkably stable for some four centuries after the Reformation. ## Modern Assumptions The assumptions that shape contemporary Anglican worship are surprisingly new. Two in particular would have bewildered worshippers of the early modern period: the assumption that communion will be offered every week, and the assumption that most people attending the service will receive communion.[^bray-common-prayer-p77] These expectations only became dominant in the twentieth century, and they represent a significant departure from both the mediaeval practice of annual reception and the early modern pattern of quarterly celebrations. ## Selected passages > ‘The Book of Common Prayer increased the frequency, requiring that **parishioners** **receive** **communion** **”at** **least** **three** **times** **in** **the** **year,** of which Easter shall be one” (p. 269).’ > > *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, p. 78 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p78.jpg|🖼️]]) > ‘A pattern of **monthly** **or** **quarterly** **Com-** **munion** **services** **remained** **the** **usual** **practice** **in** **most** **An-** **glican** **churches** **until** **the** **second** **half** **of** **the** **twentieth** **century.**’ > > *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, p. 78 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p78.jpg|🖼️]]) ## Appearances - *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, Samuel L. Bray and Drew Nathaniel Keane - 1. Preparing, pp. 77–78 ## Related [[Eucharist]] . [[Eucharistic Practice]] . [[Eucharistic Theology]] . [[Book of Common Prayer]] . [[Anglican Liturgy]] . [[Sacramental Theology]] . [[Reformation and Liturgy]] . [[Liturgical Tradition and Continuity]] [^bray-common-prayer-p78]: [[How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy]], p. 78 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p78.jpg|🖼️]]) . ‘**Before** **the** **Reformation,** **the** **people** **were** **required** **to** **take** **communion** **once** **a** **year** **at** **Easter.** **The** **Book** **of** **Common** **Prayer** **increased** **the** **frequency,** **requiring** **that** **parishioners** **receive** **communion** […]’ [^bray-common-prayer-p77]: Ibid., p. 77 ([[data/bray-common-prayer/source-images/p77.jpg|🖼️]]) . ‘Preparing Two common assumptions people have today are surpris- ingly new in Anglican worship: **the** **assumption** **that** **com-** **munion** **will** **be** **offered** **every** **week,** and **the** **assumption** **that** **most** **people** **attending** **the** **service** **will** […]’