A communion cup is a ritual liturgical vessel, a variant of a

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. Re ...

, used by only one member of the congregation. A communion cup is usually quite small; it can be as small as a

shot glass A shot glass is a glass originally designed to hold or measure spirits or liquor, which is either imbibed straight from the glass ("a shot") or poured into a cocktail ("a drink"). An alcoholic beverage served in a shot glass and typically con ...

. They may be designed as small beakers or as miniature versions of the usual liturgical chalice. This manner of administering consecrated wine at

Holy Communion The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

has become established in various Christian denominations, either as a general practice or as a temporary arrangement; for example, during epidemics. In churches such as the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, which generally offer communion without wine, or where

intinction Intinction is the Eucharistic practice of partly dipping the consecrated bread, or ''host'', into the consecrated wine before consumption by the communicant. Western Christianity Intinction is a method of administering Holy Communion in many West ...

(dipping the

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

in the chalice) is the custom, communion cups are not known, and, thus, they are not used during epidemics.

Scandinavia

In Scandinavia, the consecrated wine can be shared in the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

from a single chalice (from which everyone drinks in turn), from communion cups (''særkalker''), or through intinction. The use of communion cups in Norway is recent; it was introduced as part of the fight against

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in the late 1890s. The Norwegian Women's Sanitation Association (''Norske Kvinners Sanitetsforening'') was a key driver behind the innovation; it also helped to acquire communion cups for several churches. The practice was not introduced without controversy: it triggered a fierce debate over whether it was truly communion if not everyone drank from the same chalice. The communion cup was introduced later in the

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...

. It was first approved in 1909, but it was only came into general use at the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when both tuberculosis and the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

were rampant.

North America

Communion cups were also introduced in North American churches in the 1890s. As in Scandinavia, the new practice was motivated by sanitary concerns and accompanied by debate over whether it was ritually acceptable. Newspaper headlines of the time warned of danger and contagion associated with the shared chalice.

References

{{reflist Chalices Drinkware Eucharistic objects Religious terminology