Sydney Anglicans Vote for Lay Administration of Eucharist
Episcopal News Service. October 27, 1994 [94178D]
By a significant margin, the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney (Australia) voted in favor of lay administration of the Holy Communion. The Rev. John Woodhouse, who proposed the bill, maintained that the exclusive right of the priest to preside at Holy Communion was an overstatement of the power of the priest. He pointed out that laity and deacons were able to preach yet not preside at the table, giving the impression that the priest was essential to the Lord's Supper but not to any other activity in the church. Dean Boak Jobbins of Sydney countered by saying that his objection to the bill was that lay presidency would erode and confuse the ministry of the priest, challenging the Anglican view of ordination where a priest is given a charge of ministering the doctrine and statements and discipline of Christ. The synod will conclude debate on the proposal in October 1995.