How often should churches perform communion?

The Lord’s Supper, commonly referred to as Communion or the Eucharist, is one of only two rituals prescribed by the Christian faith that every Christian should partake. The other, baptism, is a well documented procedure noted in the Bible and throughout Christian theology up to the present day. Notably enough it is generally held that a baptism is only required once for every believer (although the specifics are, like everything else, a matter for debate). The process itself is quite clear and can be immediately referred to in 1 Cor 11:23-26, ‘For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He also took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.’ This action is to be replicated every time Communion is performed.

Unfortunately, there is no directive in the Bible that explains the required frequency of sharing in the Lord’s Supper. Throughout history the patricians have noted their preferences for Communion, some being daily (as noted by Jerome) to multiple times weekly (Basil of Caesaria). Admittedly, even the Didache, considered by many to be the guidebook of the Apostles, did not specify how often the Lord’s Supper needed to be performed. Possibly however the frequency is not as important as the meaning and the purpose behind Communion. The rite of Communion is designed to be a remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ for our sins and through this ritual, we partake of his body (symbolized by the bread) to remember that his body was broken on our behalf so that we may not suffer the wrath of God. Jesus’ sacrifice of his body was the atonement for our sins and through this we would be redeemed and avoid the eternal separation from God. Subsequently we then drink of his blood (symbolized by the wine) in order to remember that his blood was spilled, fulfilling the demand of God that blood be spilled as a means of washing away our sins, paralleling the blood sacrifices performed during the OT period.

Communion was also performed as a means of reaffirming the unity of believers and the church. The fact that Communion was only allowed for those who were believers (some require baptized believers only) lends to the belief that the church was a select and that the rite was a bonding element for those believers. They can look at Communion and baptism as common rituals that every believer held to proclaim the uniqueness in their belief in Jesus as Lord. Also important is that the ritual should be done with a ‘right’ heart, doing so without the true love of God will be sinning against ‘the body and the blood of the Lord’ (1 Cor 11:27, 28)

But how often should a church perform Communion? There doesn’t seem to be an answer. Some churches do this monthly, some every Sunday, some every service. The correct answer is that a church should hold Communion as often as they feel necessary to remind the congregation that Christ Jesus’ body was broken and his blood shed for our sins and at his request, we are to do this ‘in remembrance of Me’.