Abendmahl mit Kindern?

Mitwachsenden Glauben fördern und begleiten

Abstract

Locally autonomous churches have to decide if children should be allowed to partake of the Lord’s Supper, whereby the understanding of the connections and the right sequence of faith, Lord’s Supper and baptism is decisive. Traditionally, the precedence of baptism was required. This has been put into question by the increasing practice of open celebration of the Lord’s Supper. In the German Lutheran Churches (EKD), the confirmation was instead required as a prerequisite for participation, in particular because of the conscious confession of faith that is a part of the confirmation ceremony. Proponents of children’s participation point to the growing faith of the child, which can find expression appropriate to its age in the celebration of the Supper. An intrinsic religious motivation fitting for the child should not be considered as merely cognitive. Congregations could strive to make informed choices on this matter. If you understand the Lord’s Supper as “open”, you should also invite children.