Abstention from Holy Communion: The Case Study of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Blantyre Synod - Malawi

Abstract

This paper is a study on abstention of Christians, both men and women from the Holy Communion in the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Blantyre Synod Malawi (CCAP). As a Presbyterian member of Blantyre Synod, Malawi, the researcher writes this paper as somebody who is concerned with this issue. It appears that on a communion Sunday, the church building would be filled up to capacity and other Christians would be sitting outside. During the celebration of the Lord's Supper, many Christians would walk out and only a few of the possible communicants are left to partake of the Lord's Supper. This paper would like to suggest that the problem is partly caused by the influences of culture.