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So, originally, I was going to ask, why do Anglicans serve the bread first, then the wine. The answer, however, is that it really seems to be the order in Scripture, for as 1 Corinthians 11 says:

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Thus, it is bread, then wine. Still, I keep thinking that way back in my Baptist days (its been 5 years now!) it was the other way - wine first, then bread.

The question then is two-fold:

  1. Are there any traditions that tend to go wine first (if so, which?) and, if that's the case
  2. Why?
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    Catholics, I believe, take bread dipped in wine, so that would be "simultaneous". – Narnian Jan 2 '13 at 20:34
  • That's continction - which is a different question. The elements are still presented in terms of bread first, then wine- but that is a good practical reason... – Affable Geek Jan 2 '13 at 20:35
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    Not continction. Intinction. – svidgen Jan 2 '13 at 21:30
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    Another anecdote - my church has bread and wine (well, grape juice - we're in a Methodist building!) available for people to help themselves. If things get busy it's not unusual for people to take the wine first if they can't get to the bread, purely for practical reasons. – Waggers Jan 3 '13 at 9:29
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    Hey, Dan. Welcome to the forum. This is an interesting comment, but it really is not an answer. When you get some reputation, you'll be able to add comments. – Narnian Oct 14 '13 at 16:49
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It appear that you have technically answered your own question by reminiscing to your Baptist days when you received wine first and then bread, so no, not all churches celebrate communion in the same order.

I think a deeper question would be whether any churches establish as doctrine the order of the elements. I am not aware of any that do, but there is always a chance that a group on the fringes has elevated this issue above others.

I think more likely if any churches have an official position on the order of the element it's most likely to establish consistency in the order of liturgy, rather than for some doctrinal reason. In general, most churches receive either the elements simultaneously or bread first, wine second to follow the order of 1 Cor 11. Since it is most natural to read this passage during liturgy, it is most natural to receive the elements in this order.

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If this was a Passover seder, then the wine would have been FIRST, as is evident in Luke. Always the blessing of the wine is first, THEN the blessing of the bread. To me, it is but one more way the church has attempted to avoid "anything Jewish", and distance itself from the original setting of this event. In our home group, when we do communion, it is done in the order found in LUKE.

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