[To TUB EDITOR Or TER " SPECTATOR," . 1 Sin,—Congregational and the
great majority of Baptist Churches give an absolutely unconditional invitation to Christian people to the Holy Communion. The words used by the minister in announcing the Lord's Supper are almost invariably those of the Apostle ; " ' All who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity' are invited to His table." Many sincere believers have never been baptised and are members of no Christian community, and no reason can be deduced from the New Testament for excluding them from the Com- munion Service. The insistence upon any church ordinance as a prerequisite to Holy Communion is entirely out of harmony with the spirit of Christ's religion. The Holy Table is His, and all who are moved by sincere love and devotion to Him should have access to it. According to the -views of some of your correspondents, the author of the noble Communion hymn so frequently sung at the Anglican Service, "When I survey the wondrous Cross," would be debarred from partaking of the sacred elements. And many of our Lord's most gifted and devoted servants would to-day be shut out from the privilege of communicating with many of their fellow-believers if the rubrics were rigidly observed 1 You are right in placing Confirmation in a different category from Baptism. The former was not instituted by our Lord or His Apostles.—I am, Sir, &a., H. G. Hoanz. .Ravenscraig, Oayton Road, Harrow.
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