Dipping worse than sipping at Eucharist

Christian Century, Nov 15, 2000

An updated report on the use of a common communion cup says people may have more to fear from people dipping the bread in the wine than from sipping from the same chalice used by other congregants. The report by Canadian cardiologist David Gould expands on his 1987 study, which was issued after churchgoers expressed fears of contracting the AIDS virus by using the same communion cup as other parishioners.

Gould's new report says churchgoers are more likely to get sick from airborne infections than from sharing a communion chalice, and the massive amounts of bacteria needed to cause an infection are usually not found on a common communion cup.

Gould did warn, however, that trying to skirt the problem by dipping bread into the cup--rather than sipping from it--may actually cause more problems because hands contain more germs than a person's mouth, as reported by the Anglican Journal, a Canadian church newspaper. "Medically, we know that hands are much worse transmitters of infection than lips," Gould wrote in his report. "Our mothers always told us to wash our hands before eating, because our hands pick up germs. And they had a good reason for saying that."

If people choose to dip the bread into the cup, they should be careful not to allow their fingers to touch the wine, Gould said. Germs can further be prevented by as much as 90 percent by wiping the communion cup with a white linen cloth after each sip.

Despite the fears of catching a cold, the flu or worse from a common cup, Gould said most such fears are simply unfounded. If communion cups were a danger, Gould said, there would be cases of mass infections.